From The Ashes
by AndrewsQuill
Summary: Trying to come to grips with the loss of his godfather and the devastating news about Ron and Hermione, Harry seeks solace on the grounds where he discovers that he really needs a friendly face.
1. The Aftermath

_**From the Ashes**_

Harry has just left the Headmaster's office after hearing the full details of the Prophecy. Trying to come to grips with the loss of his godfather and the devastating news about Ron and Hermione, Harry seeks solace on the grounds. He is joined by a couple of the members of the DA where he discovers that what he really needed was someone to talk with.

Rating: Mature

Warnings: Spoiler alert for all seven books! This story will be full of mature themes related to the harsh realities of life.

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter and no money is being made from this story. I am thankful to J.K. Rowling for creating such a wonderful universe for her fans to enjoy.

**Chapter 1: The Aftermath**

It was early morning on a beautiful day in June. The temperature was a comfortable twenty degrees Celsius and the tree branches were swaying in a light breeze. There was a mist floating above the surface of the Great Lake and drifting through the trees at the edge of the Forbidden Forest. The moisture on the grass glistened like diamonds in the rays from rising sun. After a harsh Scottish winter the grounds were alive with growth and it showed why the Highlands of Scotland were one of the most beautiful places in the world.

Down by the lake shore there was a darkened hut with a pumpkin patch and an empty paddock. The large stump next to the front door still had an axe embedded in it as if the owner would be coming right back to chop some more firewood.

Harry Potter was sitting on the steps of Hagrid's hut hoping that the gamekeeper would return soon. Originally, he thought that he wanted to be alone. Now, he realized that he needed a friendly face to talk too while his best friends were laid up in the Hospital Wing after the disastrous affair in the Department of Mysteries. Hagrid had always had an interesting, yet simple, way of looking at things that usually helped Harry put things into better perspective.

During their flight from the Death Eaters, Hermione had taken a curse that he had never heard of before. She was lucky to be alive and even then it was a close thing. It had been touch and go for a few hours before Madam Pomfrey declared her stable. Harry thought that those were the longest hours of his life. He didn't know what he would do without his best friend by his side, especially since it was his lack of planning that had almost cost Hermione her life.

Unfortunately, she would never be the same again; too many of her internal organs had been damaged beyond repair. Since they were cursed with dark magic, the only thing that Madam Pomfrey could was remove the damaged portions of some organs in the hope that the remainder of the damaged organ would sustain her. Because they were so compromised, Hermione ended up losing her spleen as well as her uterus and ovaries.

Harry made Madam Pomfrey promise not to tell Hermione about her inability to have children unless he was present. He knew that she would need someone to lean on when that terrible news was delivered and he felt that it was his duty to be there for Hermione. Just thinking about the turmoil she was going to go through brought tears to his eyes.

The injuries Ron sustained from the brains were a very difficult thing to gauge. His forearms were covered in long ropey scars that stood out bright white against his pale, freckly, skin. Madam Pomfrey was unsure if he would ever fully recover. The mental damage inflicted by the brains was much greater than the scaring on his arms. Only time would tell how much of a recovery Ron would make.

Ginny, Luna, and Neville had escaped the running battle with just a few minor injuries among them. Madam Pomfrey had them all patched up a few minutes after their return with the exception of Ginny's broken ankle. It was the worst of their injuries and the only one that required a stay in the hospital wing for a few hours.

In addition to worrying about his friends, Harry's emotions were also a bit frayed from the loss of his godfather, Sirius, and learning that he was prophesized to face Voldemort in mortal combat. He was so lost in his thoughts of Hermione, Sirius and the prophecy that he didn't see two members of the DA walking towards him.

Hannah and Susan had been walking along the shore of the Great Lake searching for Harry while discussing their OWLS and their summer plans when they finally spied him sitting on the steps to Hagrid's hut. Immediately, they changed direction and made their way over to him. When the two Hufflepuffs sat down on opposite sides of Harry he flinched in surprise.

The two girls shared a look of concern with each other before Susan softly spoke, "Harry? Are you okay? We heard that Ron, Hermione, and Ginny were all in the Hospital Wing and went to visit. While we were there, Hermione asked us to come and find you."

That was news to him. Surprised, Harry rose to his feet and asked, "She's awake?"

When he made to head up to the castle, Susan stood and grasped his hand before calmly saying, "No, she was asleep when we left. Madam Pomfrey gave her a light sleeping draught to help her heal. We were able to talk with her for five minutes before she fell asleep though."

As Hannah stood up to join Harry and Susan, the early morning sunlight illuminated the honey colored strands in her lustrous dark blond hair as they walked down to the lake shore to continue their conversation. She had never seen Harry looking as lost as he did right now. It was even worse than their second year when the student body thought him to be the Heir of Slytherin. To her eternal shame, she had been one of the students that had condemned him without getting to know him first.

Moving up next to Harry, Hannah laid a hand on his shoulder to stop him from walking further. He flinched slightly under her gentle touch before he turned to face her. Sincerely, she said, "Harry, I wanted you to know that I'm really sorry for what happened in our second year. I shouldn't have doubted you." She felt that she needed to apologize for her role in suspecting him back in their second year, especially with the state that he was in currently.

Harry looked up into Hannah's eyes, searching for any sign of deceit. Finding none, he gave her a half hearted smile and whispered, "Thanks. Apology accepted." He didn't have to ask her what she was apologizing for. He remembered the incident in the library as clear as if it were yesterday.

Turning in silence, the three teens resumed their slow trek around the lake. Each of them lost in their own thoughts. Susan and Hannah were thinking about Harry and all of the things that he had been rumored to have been through in the past four years.

Harry was curiously thinking about what Hermione had said to them in the Hospital Wing. When he couldn't contain himself any longer, he pleaded, "What did Hermione say to you two?"

Spying one of the benches that littered the walking trail around the lake, Susan led them over to it and sat down making sure to place Harry in the middle. Looking at the young man in their midst, she quietly spoke, "She asked us to find you and keep you company while she is recovering. Hermione didn't want you to be alone right now."

Sitting there by the lake on that beautiful June morning, Harry Potter's stoic resolve collapsed when Susan told him what Hermione had sent them to do. Even in pain, she cared more for his well being than her own. Unbidden, tears began streaming down his face as he silently cried for Hermione's loss and the death of his godfather.

When Harry began crying, Hannah and Susan were shocked. It was the last thing that they had expected to see and they were both dismayed that he cried silently, as if he had learned that behavior at a young age.

Tentatively, Susan slowly pulled Harry into a gentle hug and began rubbing his back while Hannah whispered calming words in his ear while rubbing his shoulder. She felt Harry flinch when she touched him initially. She had only ever seen Hermione regularly touch Harry before and his reaction confirmed some of her suspicions about his childhood.

Susan had been observing Harry closely during each DA meeting and meal times for most of the year. She discovered that he didn't like to be crowded or touched and he usually stood in such a way that would minimize the chances of that happening. Often, he stood between, and slightly behind, Ron and Hermione using them as a pair of human shields.

Another thing that she had noticed about Harry was that he rarely touched other people. During the DA meetings, he seemed reluctant to correct the wand movements of a member if it meant that he would need to touch them. She was impressed with his resolve when she saw him take a deep breath and do what needed to be done even though it clearly troubled him.

Hannah knew that her friend harbored feelings for Harry and she had to admit that he was very fanciable once you got past his moodiness and other quirks. He was powerful, smart, loyal, and a natural leader. She also knew that Harry spent a lot of time with Hermione and that he loved her, even if he didn't recognize those feelings for what they truly were.

Moving closer to the pair, Hannah asked a question that had burning in her mind ever since she laid eyes on him, "Harry, why do you wear those old clothes that are way too big for you?" She knew that he had money; the Potters were a wealthy family that could trace their ancestry back hundreds of years in Godric's Hollow alone.

The question so surprised Harry that he stood up abruptly and took a few steps away from the bench that they were sitting on. It took the two girls took a couple of seconds before they realized that he was no longer between them. They quickly moved to join him, concern etched into both of their faces, as they returned to his side.

They stopped cold at the look upon his face. It was totally out of place on his normally peaceful aristocratic visage. There was real anger there and neither of the young women was quite sure how to ask him about it.

Harry saw red when he thought of the innocent question that Hannah had just asked him. It brought back the memory of his meeting with Dumbledore in his office last night. The fact that the Headmaster admitted to condemning him to a hard life at the Dursleys destroyed his faith in the man. Dumbledore's tactical error had caused Harry to stay up all night reflecting upon his life and the events surrounding it and that is what led to his anger at Hannah's seemingly innocent question.

Susan tentatively stepped up to Harry, her concern for him overwhelming the feeling of fear that she felt upon seeing him so angry. Very slowly, she stretched out a hand towards him and rested it upon his forearm. In a kind whisper, she asked, "Harry, are you okay? What's wrong?"

They could both see Harry taking deep breaths to calm himself. After a few seconds he led them over to another bench along the path and, releasing a sigh, he sat down. Slowly, so as not to startle him, the girls each gently lay a hand upon one of his.

Harry looked down, marveling at the sensation of warm hands resting upon his own. It was an odd moment to relish the warmth of a kind touch and it gave him a sense of relief to know that life did go on even in the midst of tragedy. Giving the young women a half smile, he took a moment to formulate his answer.

His voice was scratchy from lack of use and crying but it was still strong when he finally spoke, "My godfather died last night in the same fight that Hermione and Ron suffered their injuries. Afterwards, I had a meeting with Dumbledore and he told me some things that he had done to me for what he termed the 'Greater Good.'"

The bitterness was easy to hear in his voice and it surprised them both. They thought that Harry was on good terms with the Headmaster. Sharing a look, Susan and Hannah vowed to help ease his pain if they could. Susan's voice was sincere when she said, "Harry, we don't really know what happened, but if you need someone to talk to you can come to us and we will listen." Very softly, so only he could hear her, she whispered, "I'll listen, I promise."

Emerald eyes bore into ice blue seeking confirmation of her statement. Sensing nothing but the truth coming from the auburn haired young women sitting next to him, Harry gave her an almost imperceptible nod of acceptance.

Suddenly feeling very anxious, Harry drew his wand and muttered, "Tempus." When the time and date were displayed, he stood up and said, "I think that I should head back up to the castle and see how Hermione is doing." Turning to his two companions, he asked, "Coming?"

Susan and Hannah shared a look and immediately stood up and took flanking positions next to Harry. The trio made for an interesting sight as they trudged up to the Hospital Wing. Both young women were taller than Harry by a couple of inches and, as a result, it looked as if he was being flanked by a couple of body guards, not two beautiful young ladies.

The minute that he stepped into the Hospital Wing, Harry knew that something was very wrong. The room was full of professors and they were all gathered around Hermione's bed. A feeling of dread swept through Harry and he rushed to her side.

Madam Pomfrey began herding the professors away from Miss Granger's bed so she and Mr. Potter could have a quiet moment to themselves. The group reformed around the two Hufflepuff teens, instinctively seeking comfort in numbers.

Susan and Hannah were watching the scene in front of them in horror. They thought that Hermione was out of danger when they left to find Harry. Seeking comfort, the two teens embraced each other and cried silently for their friends. During the course of the year, they had become quite close with Hermione as they got to know her better during the DA and the few classes that they shared.

Seeing her two students supporting each other, Pomona Sprout made her way over to them and laid a hand on each of their shoulders. In a whisper, the mild mannered Herbology Professor said, "Miss Granger has taken a turn for the worse. It's good that you brought Harry here when you did."

Horrified at the news from their head of house, neither teen could muster the fortitude to respond. They were too shocked to do anything but cling to each other in their despair.

When Harry arrived at her bedside, he almost broke down crying upon seeing Hermione in so much pain. His hand sought out hers as he sat in the chair next to her bed. Tenderly, he brushed a strand of hair from her cheek as he looked into her cinnamon colored eyes. Lovingly, he whispered, "Hey. How are you doing?"

As he took in her appearance, Harry realized that her lips had a bluish tinge to them and her skin had a waxy appearance. He stifled a sob and brought his hand up to caress her cheek lovingly. When she turned into his touch and kissed the palm of his hand, the dam broke inside of him and tears flowed silently down his cheeks unchecked.

Hermione knew that her time was fast approaching. Pushing aside her pain, she beckoned Harry closer. When he leaned down at her request, weakly, she said, "I love you, Harry. I have since our first year." She was too tired to say more but nothing was really necessary. She had finally laid bare her soul to the man that she loved and she felt at peace.

Harry's heart broke when Hermione said that she loved him. He had been in love with her since their second year but he never knew how to express it. Now that he knew that she felt the same way, he was going to lose her forever. Half sobbing, he whispered, "I love you too, Hermione." Slowly, he kissed her for the first time while pouring all of the love he felt for her into the kiss.

Just as the kiss was ending, Harry felt Hermione's body shudder. He looked into her eyes and knew that death had finally come to claim her. Her gaze never left his, even as she drew her last breath.

Softly, Harry brought his fingers up and closed Hermione's cinnamon colored eyes before placing a tender kiss on her forehead. His tears were splashing down upon her cheeks and he carefully wiped them away with his thumbs before pulling the sheet up to her chin and tucking it in before smoothing out the wrinkles.

She looked so peaceful that she appeared to be asleep. Burning the image of her lying there into his mind, Harry let the check that he had been holding on his emotions and magic go.

With an in inarticulate scream of sorrow and rage, Harry fell to his knees and a wave of magic burst forth from his body, flattening everyone in the room and tossing beds around like twigs in a heavy wind. The only thing unaffected in the room was Hermione and the bed that her body lay upon.

When the maelstrom ended, Harry Potter was on his knees at the epicenter quietly crying. With a huge effort, he got to his feet and turned to look at Hermione's body.

While Harry was gazing at Hermione's body, Susan helped Hannah to her feet before making her way over to the grieving Harry. Her own grief was palpable but she knew that it was nothing compared to what Harry must be going through. She knew how Hermione felt about Harry and judging by his reaction to her death, he returned those feelings.

Hannah was sad and terrified at the same time. She had never felt that much power before and while magnificent, it was very frightening. She was rooted to the spot when Susan left her side and went over to comfort Harry.

The teachers were picking themselves up from the floor in awe of the magical display that Mr. Potter had just put on. They noticed Miss Bones moving to comfort the distressed teen so they set aside their grief momentarily and went about putting the Hospital Wing back together while keeping a close eye on the Boy-Who-Lived.

Cautiously, Susan stepped up to Harry and stood next to him. They were both looking down at Hermione's body and crying. Still weeping, softly, she said, "She loved you, you know? She told me earlier this year."

Harry felt Susan come over and stand next to him but he made no move to look away from Hermione. Her words of comfort tugged at his heart and when he replied, his voice was laced with sorrow, "I only wish that we would have told each other how we felt before. We could've had years…" his voice cracked as a sob escaped him.

"You did have years together, Harry. Cherish them and remember how she lived her life." Susan told him sincerely.

Never taking his eyes from Hermione's body, Harry said, "Thanks, Susan. I understand and I will."

The magical backlash from Harry had alerted the Headmaster that something was amiss in the castle.

Before he could leave his office to investigate, one of the portraits spoke up, "Excuse me, Headmaster. You are needed in the Hospital Wing. Miss Granger passed away a few minutes ago."

Grimacing, Dumbledore got up from his desk and began making his way down to the Hospital Wing. About halfway there, he realized that the magical disturbance probably came from Harry Potter when Miss Granger passed away. He was not looking forward to the upcoming confrontation with Harry but he had duties to perform and tending to the death of a student was one of them.

As he approached the entrance to the Hospital Wing, Dumbledore could feel the effects from Harry's magical outburst. If the wards surrounding the hospital had not been there to help contain that type of event, the damage could have been immense. Stepping into the room, he was surprised to see the amount of damage that had done to the room. The professors were silently putting the room back together as they cleaned up in the aftermath of Harry's outburst.

When Madam Pomfrey saw the Headmaster standing in the doorway surveying the damage, she made her way over to him so she could perform the hardest duty of her profession. Sadly, she said, "Miss Granger passed away about fifteen minutes ago, Headmaster. The curse that she was hit with grazed her heart and there was nothing that I could have done to save her. Mr. Potter was with her at the end so she wasn't alone." By the end of her report, Poppy was crying openly. She was always fond of the young Gryffindor and her loss would be felt by everyone whose life she touched.

Neither adult noticed Harry Potter as he walked up to them. When he spoke, his voice caused Madam Pomfrey to start in surprise and Dumbledore to take a step back when he saw the look of loathing that he was receiving.

Harry's voice was full of fury when he spoke, "Are you happy now, Headmaster?" Pointing towards Hermione's body, he continued ranting, "This is what happens when you keep secrets! If I had known what was going on from the beginning none of this would have happened!"

His anger spent, Harry bit back on a sob and said, "Who is going to tell Hermione's parents?"

Albus Dumbledore knew that his relationship with Harry Potter was beyond repair. The loss of Sirius Black was bad enough, but the death of Miss Granger had destroyed any chance of reconciliation. Sighing, Dumbledore said in a placating tone, "I will talk to Miss Granger's parents."

Harry's voice was as hard as granite when he said, "No. If Professor McGonagall can't do it, I will. She was Hermione's favorite professor and our Head of House. Plus, she has met her parents before."

Recognizing that it would only further damage their relationship, Dumbledore acquiesced, "Very well. I will ask Professor McGonagall if she will inform Miss Granger's parents." Before he could say anything else, Harry Potter had turned his back on him and walked back over to where Susan Bones and Hannah Abbott were standing near Hermione's bed.

Realizing that there were some things that she still had to do, Madam Pomfrey excused herself from the Headmaster and made her way over to Harry Potter. Pulling out the letter that Miss Granger had given to her, she held the envelope out to Harry as she spoke, "I'm really sorry for your loss Mr. Potter. There was nothing that I could do for Miss Granger. The curse grazed her heart. She wrote this for you when we realized that her heart was damaged."

Unable to speak, Harry numbly took the envelope from Madam Pomfrey and clutched it gently in his hands. The letter seemed to take the fight out of him and he began to hyperventilate and sob at the same time.

When Madam Pomfrey moved to help him, Harry backed away from her well meaning ministrations and into the arms of Susan Bones.

Turning him around in her arms, Susan wrapped Harry in a warm embrace and whispered into his ear, "It's going to be okay. I've got you." Looking over his shoulder, Susan nodded to Madam Pomfrey and began leading Harry over to a quiet corner of the room.

When they were seated in a pair of chairs facing each other, Susan held his free hand as she said supportively, "Why don't you open that in private later. If you don't want to be alone, I can sit with you."

Harry still couldn't speak but he squeezed her hand in acknowledgement while looking into her eyes.

There was a scraping noise as another chair was pulled over and Hannah sat down on Harry's other side. Tentatively, she said, "Harry, they are going to move Hermione's body soon. Madam Pomfrey wanted to know if you would like to say goodbye."

Nodding his head yes, Harry got up from his seat and went over to where Hermione lay in the hospital bed. He sat down heavily in the chair next to her bed and lay his head down on her side and wept openly for the first time since he was a small child. He felt like his heart had been ripped from his chest. Nothing mattered anymore because Hermione Granger was gone forever and his life was a darker place because of it.

The two teens from Hufflepuff stood in silent vigil as Harry Potter mourned the loss of his closest friend and the woman he loved.


	2. Picking up the Pieces

**Chapter 2: Picking up the pieces.**

Harry realized that he must have fallen asleep while he was crying because he couldn't remember getting into bed. Attempting to reach for his glasses on the nightstand, he noticed that someone was holding his hands.

Susan felt Harry move on the hospital bed and knew that he was awake. With her free hand, she picked up his glasses and carefully slipped them onto his face. Looking into his emerald eyes, she could see the pain and anguish of his loss reflected in their depths. Her low whisper enhanced the lilting timbre of her voice as she asked him, "Do you feel like getting up?"

Seeing the unasked question in Harry's eyes, Susan gave a slight smile and continued speaking in a soft tone, "Hannah and I helped you into bed. You exhausted yourself and that was probably a good thing too."

Hannah gave Harry's hand a squeeze and quietly excused herself to fetch Madam Pomfrey when she realized that Harry was awake. She had been relieved when he had finally worn himself out. His grief was so great that it tore at her heart because she knew that there was nothing that she could do to lessen his burden.

In his despair, his magic was lashing out. After he destroyed most of the Hospital Wing for the second time, the teachers removed the rest of the furniture and Madam Pomfrey put up some extra magical protections. The staff was clearly relieved when Harry finally succumbed to exhaustion. If he had kept it up much longer, there had been talk of stunning him.

Surprisingly, during his outbursts, Hannah and Susan weren't affected by the maelstrom. It was as if Harry's magic was protecting them.

Reaching Madam Pomfrey's office, Hannah knocked on the door frame and said, "Excuse me, ma'am. Harry's awake."

Relieved, Madam Pomfrey said, "Good. Let's go see how he is feeling. If he's okay, perhaps you two could keep him company for the rest of the day. The last thing that young man needs is to be left alone to wallow in his grief."

When they returned to Harry's bed, they found him sitting up, talking quietly with Susan.

As they neared the bed, Harry looked up at them and rasped, "Thank you."

Hannah gave him a sincere look and said, "You're welcome." as she sat back down in her chair.

Madam Pomfrey was checking Harry's vital signs and after a few minutes, she looked him straight in the eyes and warmly said, "You're still exhausted but nothing a little more sleep won't cure. Please come and see me if you need anything, Mr. Potter."

When he nodded in understanding, her voice softened to her more natural tone, "Miss Granger was a very special witch. Her…" What ever else she was going to say was forgotten as she sobbed into her hand and quickly retreated to her office to compose herself.

Understanding exactly how Madam Pomfrey felt, Harry whispered sadly, "I know." to her rapidly retreating form. His eyes took on a far away look and power welled up within him, but this wasn't the uncontrolled maelstrom from earlier. This power had a purpose and Harry made a silent vow to release it upon certain individuals when the time was right.

Susan was watching Harry's face as he whispered something to the retreating Madam Pomfrey. When his eyes lost their focus, she felt a shift in the ambient magic around him. It was power, pure and simple, and Harry Potter evidently had it in spades. She knew that he had his magic tightly under his control but it still made her skin tingle.

Hannah could feel the change in Harry's magic as well and she shivered at the thought of him ever turning that much power on anyone in anger.

She was about to shrink back in her chair when Harry did something that surprised her, he reached out and clasped her hand softly in his own and looked into her eyes while he said softly, "Please don't be afraid of me. I won't hurt you."

The sincerity in his voice almost brought Hannah to tears. Her voice sounded tiny as she whispered, "I won't."

Turning his gaze to Susan, Harry was about to say the same thing to her when she spoke first, "I trust you, Harry." She honestly wasn't worried about him harming her intentionally, it was what he was going to do if confronted by the likes of Malfoy or the one responsible for the death of Hermione that concerned her.

Swinging his feet off the bed, Harry released their hands and stood up slowly. Looking around the room, he took notice of the absence of all furniture except for what they were using. Shifting his focus, he asked, "Has anyone seen Ginny, Neville, or Luna? We need to tell them about Ron and…." he couldn't bring himself to finish the thought because it was still too raw.

Understanding what Harry meant, Susan asked, "Harry, do you still have your master coin for the DA?"

Unable to speak just yet, Harry pulled the fake galleon out of his pocket and held it out to her.

Taking the coin that Hermione had worked so hard to create, Susan said, "Thank you. I'll give it right back, I promise." She could feel his gaze on the coin and she knew that it was now one of his most cherished items.

Tapping the fake galleon with her wand, Susan reset the time and date for eleven am, which gave them a little over an hour to collect a few things before heading up to the Room of Requirement. Finished with her task, she held the coin out to Harry in the palm of her hand.

Almost reverently, Harry reclaimed the coin from Susan. He rubbed his thumb along the face of the coin before placing it into his trouser pocket and turning his attention back to the two young women with him, "I take it that we are heading up to the Room of Requirement to tell everyone what happened?"

Hannah had cottoned on to Susan's plan as soon as her own DA coin heated up. She tried to keep her tone light, it was not an easy thing to do but she somehow managed it, when she asked, "I'll go fetch Neville, Ginny, and Luna and bring them to the Room of Requirement."

Harry stopped her by saying, "Hannah, wait a moment." As she turned around to rejoin them, Harry quietly called out, "Dobby."

A small pop announced the arrival of the tiny elf and the first thing that Harry noticed was that Dobby was not his usually smiling self. Concerned, Harry knelt down to eye level with his tiny friend and softly asked, "Dobby, are you okay?"

Wailing, the diminutive elf threw himself into Harry's arms. As Harry was hugging Dobby, tears came to his eyes as he realized that bunches of other people were going to be suffering too. Rubbing the elf's back and choking back his own tears, he whispered, "It's okay, Dobby. I miss her too. We are going to be meeting in about an hour in the Come and Go Room to tell everyone what happened. She was your friend too; would you like to join us?"

It took a few moments for Dobby to control his crying to the point where he could speak. Sniffling, he nodded yes then asked, "What can Dobby do for the Great Harry Potter, sir?"

Taking a moment to compose his thoughts, Harry's voice quavered when he finally spoke, "Would you please fetch a magical piece of parchment from my trunk?"

Dobby nodded once and disappeared without the usual telltale pop of departure.

Making a note to ask Dobby about his silent disappearance later, he stood up and looked at his two teary eyed companions. Not knowing what to say, Harry opted to move over to them in silent support.

If Susan and Hannah hadn't seen it for themselves, they wouldn't have believed it. The rumors about Harry having a house-elf at school were true for once. Before either of them could ask Harry about it, Dobby returned with a folded up, familiar, piece of parchment. They had both seen Harry using it at the end of the DA meetings to guide students safely from the room in small groups.

Taking the Marauder's Map from Dobby, Harry said, "Thanks. Do you think that you could do one more thing?" When Dobby nodded yes, he asked, "Would you pack up all of Hermione's things and keep them safe for me?"

Dobby's large green eyes were swimming with tears as he answered, "At once, Harry Potter, sir." Before Harry could say anything else, Dobby vanished to complete his assigned task.

Turning to Hannah, Harry told her, "This is the Marauder's Map. It's a complete map of Hogwarts and the grounds. My father, godfather, and Professor Lupin made it while they were students. To close the map, tap it with your wand say, 'Mischief Managed.'"

Very carefully, Hannah took the precious map in her hands. Scanning it for a few seconds, she found Neville, Luna, and Ginny together and heading for the Hospital Wing. Tapping her wand to the parchment, she muttered, "Mischief Managed." and handed the map back to Harry. Seeing the confused look on Harry and Susan's faces, she said somberly, "They're heading right towards us."

When Neville, Ginny, and Luna came around the corner, Hannah stepped forward to greet them. Her emotions were carefully hidden behind a calm façade because she didn't want to alarm them. Giving them a wave hello, she said softly, "Can you come with us to the Room of Requirement? There are some things that we have to talk about."

The three teens gave her a curious look but when Harry gestured with his hand to lead on, they shrugged and began walking in silence towards the seventh floor corridor where the entrance was located. When they arrived, Harry began pacing in front of the blank stretch of wall across from the tapestry of Barnabus the Barmy. As the door materialized after his third pass and he wrenched it open and stepped into a perfect replica of the Gryffindor Common Room.

Harry made his way over to the couch by the fireplace and plunked himself down in the center. Susan and Hannah joined him on the couch while Neville took a seat on the chair opposite them. Luna and Ginny scrunched themselves into the other armchair and waited for whatever it was that Harry had to say.

Still struggling to keep the tears at bay, Harry couldn't bring himself to speak just yet.

Ginny could see Harry wrestling with something that troubled him deeply. Guessing that it had something to do with their injuries sustained in the Department of Mysteries, she said honestly, "Harry, we don't blame you for what happened last night." Glancing over at Luna and Neville, she noticed that they were shaking their heads in agreement with her statement.

When Harry finally spoke, his voice came out in a strangled whisper as the tears cascaded down his cheeks, "You should, Madam Pomfrey isn't sure if Ron will ever recover, Sirius fell through the veil, and Hermione…" his voice broke under the strain and he ducked his head and started crying.

A feeling of dread welled up inside of Ginny and she pleaded, "What's wrong with Ron?" When she left the Hospital Wing, Ron had been sleeping with the aid of a Dreamless Sleep Potion.

It was Hannah that answered Ginny's question, with a quavering voice, she said, "He was sent to long term spell damage ward in Saint Mungo's by Madam Pomfrey earlier this morning."

Ginny was so shocked that she slipped off the chair that she was sharing with Luna. Unable to speak, she just looked over at Harry, Hannah, and Susan in stunned silence. Her complexion turned an ashen white as she struggled to take in enough air.

Luna was the first to react and she quickly sat down on the floor, pulled Ginny into an embrace, and began rocking her slowly while making soothing noises.

The news about Ron was terrible and it made Neville think about his parents' situation. However, his insides turned to stone when he realized what Harry hadn't said. Hermione was his closest friend and he knew that she had been seriously injured during the fighting. In a timid voice, he asked, "Harry, what happened to Hermione?"

The room held its collective breath as they waited for Harry's answer. Susan and Hannah kept silent because they knew that Harry needed to do this to begin the process of healing by coming to grips with her death. At almost the same time, the two young women began rubbing Harry's back in slow strokes.

After a few moments, Harry's anguish filled emerald eyes looked up into Neville's and his raw whisper cut through the tense silence, "She passed away this morning." He didn't move to stop the tears from falling this time; he needed the pain to feel alive. "The curse that she was hit with grazed her heart. There was nothing that Madam Pomfrey could do." He left out the information about the other organs because he knew it would serve no purpose but to make things harder on everyone.

The shocking admission pushed Ginny over the edge, her sister in all but blood was gone, and she never got to say goodbye. She was vaguely aware of Luna's tears mixing with hers as they embraced each other for support.

"NO!" Neville's horrified whisper rang out before he broke down crying in his own grief. Hermione had been his first friend at Hogwarts and it devastated him that he would never see her smiling face in the Gryffindor Common Room as she asked him to sit with her. He had harbored a silent crush for the brilliant young witch since their first year and now he had lost his chance to tell her how he felt.

Hannah immediately stood from her spot and went over to Neville. She knew that he was hurting inside almost as much as Harry was. She had known Neville fairly well through some of their shared classes and he often talked about Hermione. Pulling him into a hug, Hannah was crying too as she softly whispered, "She often mentioned how proud she was of you in the DA, you know. We're all going to miss her."

Susan and Harry were silently crying for the loss of their friend and his first love while they held hands on the couch.

The members of the DA began showing up in ones and twos only to find Harry, Susan, Neville, Hannah, Ginny, and Luna in various states of distress from the morning. Not knowing what was going on, or what to do, they sat down on the remaining furniture in the replica of the Gryffindor Common Room, wondering where Ron and Hermione were and waiting for Harry to speak.

Looking around the room, Harry noticed people looking around for Ron and Hermione. They had a right to hear about them from him, not the Headmaster, or one of the other Heads of House. Taking a deep breath, Harry's gravelly voice cut through the silence, "Thank you for coming on such short notice." He took a moment to look back at where Susan, Hannah, Ginny, Luna, and Neville were all seated together in a close-knit group before turning his attention back to the rest of the people in the room.

Sighing deeply, Harry straightened his back and thought of how Hermione would want to be remembered. His voice was just above a whisper but it carried to every corner of the room easily as he spoke, "Hermione, Ron, Ginny, Luna, Neville, and I ended up in a fight for our lives last night with Death Eaters." Ignoring the gasps and mutterings from the crowd, he plowed on before his courage left him, "Ron was transferred to the Long Term Spell Damage Ward in Saint Mungo's this morning. The healers don't know if he will ever recover."

Ginny began crying again in Luna's embrace when Harry informed everyone what had happened to her brother.

Harry paused a moment to let the shocking information sink in before he said in a very strained voice, "Hermione was hit with a curse during the fight and died early this morning." He was oblivious to everyone's reaction, his admission broke what little control that he had left of his emotions, and he began to shake in silent sobs as his magic began crackling around him.

Moving quickly, Susan stepped forward and embraced Harry while pulling his head down to her shoulder and then rubbing his back in a comforting manner. She didn't want Harry to let his magic get away from him in such close proximity to that many people.

Most of the members of the DA sat there too shocked to comprehend that they would never see Hermione, and perhaps Ron, again. When Susan hurried towards Harry Potter, they quickly realized why as the air began to crackle with magical energy and they started to move away from the embracing pair.

Calming down slightly, Harry reigned in his magic and then looked up into Susan's concerned eyes. "Thank you." He mumbled softly.

Nodding her head in acceptance, Susan stepped back slightly so Harry could finishing addressing everyone. She didn't sit back down in case he needed help calming down after talking about what she knew was very difficult for him.

Deciding that he had to say something else, Harry straightened his posture and held his head high as he met the gaze of each person in the room. His throat felt raw from all of the crying and it served to make his voice that much more menacing when he vowed, "I will not let Hermione's death be in vain. I swear to you that I will do everything in my power to eliminate Voldemort and his Death Eaters." Concentrating on his connection to the Dark Lord, mentally, he growled, _"Before this war is over, you and your followers will lay dead at my feet."_

In a little manor house on the outskirts of London, a tiny shiver ran down the back of Lord Voldemort. He had been feeling high levels of emotion coming from Harry Potter since early morning. When he felt the latest spike, the accompanying mental image of swirling power behind emerald eyes, and the corresponding message, he wondered if he had made a mistake in his attempts to murder the Boy-Who-Just-Wouldn't-Die.


	3. Saying Goodbye

**Chapter 3: Saying Goodbye.**

Neville and Luna were comforting Ginny in the courtyard while she waited for one of her parents to pick her up and take her to visit Ron in Saint Mungos. Harry, Hannah, and Susan were sitting beneath Hermione's favorite tree down by the lake, trying to come to grips with their loss as the late afternoon sun was casting shadows as its rays passed through the tree's canopy.

Dobby had brought down Hermione's trunk and it lay open on the ground between the three teens. Harry was trying to put its contents into some type of order that he would understand. He was crying as he sorted her things; pictures, clothes, and books, it was her whole life compressed into a box and he felt that it didn't do her justice.

To him, she was so much more than the sum of her belongings. Harry silently vowed to himself that these items wouldn't be all that was left of Hermione's legacy.

The letter that Hermione had written to Harry before she died was sitting on top of her favorite book, _'Hogwarts, A History,' _and a photo album from her years at Hogwarts. The tears had come fast and furious by the time Harry had finished reading the letter. Her words of love were just the thing that he needed to hear and they helped lessen the guilt in his heart. The pain was still there but now it was something that he could deal with and use.

He was jostled from his thoughts when something nudged the small of his back. Turning his head to see what had disturbed him; Harry was surprised to see that it was Hermione's cat, Crookshanks. Reaching around, he gently picked up the cat and placed him on his lap where he began petting him the way that he knew Hermione used to.

Within seconds, Crookshanks had settled down and was emitting a low purr. Not knowing why, Harry felt compelled to tell the ginger feline about Hermione. Softly, he whispered to the cat, "Hermione isn't here anymore, Crooks. I know that you miss her, I do. Don't you worry though; I'll take care of you."

"That is very kind of you, Mr. Potter." the grandfatherly voice of Albus Dumbledore rang out as he surprised the three teens. "Miss Granger would be proud of you."

Crookshanks stared at the Headmaster briefly before getting up from Harry's lap and plopping himself down between Hannah and Susan.

Trying to repress the anger he felt towards Dumbledore, Harry said in a clipped tone, "What can I do for you, Headmaster?" None of them had noticed Dumbledore coming down so Harry figured that he must have concealed his presence somehow. The question burning in the back of Harry's mind was how long had he been there watching and listening?

Dumbledore gazed down his crooked nose at Harry Potter and his two companions. Not really wanting to have this conversation in front of the niece of Amelia Bones, he said in his most authoritative voice, "Perhaps we should have this conversation up in my office, Mr. Potter, alone."

Cocking his head to the side slightly, Harry pursed his lips in annoyance and then dug in his heels, "No."

Susan and Hannah were both shocked, Harry had just said 'No' to Albus Dumbledore. Whatever this was about, they both knew that it had to be major. Harry usually didn't openly defy the professors but in secret was an entirely different matter.

Sighing in frustration, Dumbledore fought the urge to pinch the bridge of his nose before he said, "It really would be for the best if we had this conversation in private, Mr. Potter."  
Harry's answer surprised everyone present; his tone was light, almost accusing when he spoke, "Is this about a school related matter, Headmaster, or something else?" He had deliberately used Dumbledore's official position at the school to force him to spell out exactly what he wanted.

Knowing that Harry had partially backed him into a corner, Dumbledore tried a different tact, "It's about your summer living arrangements, and your godfather's will."

Mercilessly stomping down his guilt over Sirius' death, Harry ground out in a low tone, "Do you have his will, sir?"

Seeing his opening, Dumbledore said happily, "I do, Mr. Potter. It is up in my office. Why don't we head up there so you can take a look at it?"

Mentally kicking himself for giving Dumbledore that opening, Harry quickly asked, "What does it say?"

"Wouldn't you prefer to read it yourself, Harry?" Dumbledore asked while turning slightly towards the castle as if to lead him up there.

Still holding firm, Harry said, "No, thank you, sir. Please give me the details and then you can send it to me via owl later."

Dumbledore removed his glasses and rubbed the bridge of his nose for a moment before replying, "In summary, he left you everything, you are his sole beneficiary."

Nodding to himself, Harry remembered the hasty conversation that he had with Sirius at Grimmauld Place in what seemed another lifetime ago. Sirius had told him that he had named him as his sole heir and had given him the sealed original copy of his will. At the time, Harry thought that it was a horrible thing for Sirius to give him. Now, he was relieved that Dumbledore hadn't tried to pull a fast one and withhold parts of the inheritance.

Looking into the blue eyes of the headmaster, Harry said coolly, "Thank you for not lying about the will. Sirius gave me the original before I came back to school this term."

Shocked, Dumbledore simply stood there and stared at Harry for a moment before composing himself. Very carefully, he said, "There is a concern about the will and whether or not you can actually inherit. The Black's are a very old family and they may have taken measures to prevent non-family members from inheriting."

Susan and Hannah were staring at the scene in front of them in open-mouthed shock. Harry and the Headmaster were playing a game of words that had some very real consequences. They were so lost in their thoughts that they almost gasped aloud when Harry dropped the proverbial bomb on Dumbledore.

The grin that crossed Harry's face was anything but pleasant. His tone was as icy as the winds that blew across the Great Lake in winter when he finally spoke, "It's a good thing that I'm a distant member of the Black Family then, isn't it?"

At Harry's announcement, Dumbledore's mask slipped and his shock shown through. A large portion of his plans had just come unraveled with that one revelation.

Annoyed that Dumbledore just sat there with a look of shock on his face, Harry abruptly stood up and snapped, "What? Did you think that I wouldn't research my family history? I even found where my name should have been on that tapestry, it was burned off just like Sirius'."

Dumbledore took an involuntary step back from the barely restrained rage in Harry's voice. When the teen took an angry step towards him, he unconsciously drew his wand as a defense mechanism before he realized what he was doing.

Still on edge from the Department of Mysteries, Harry reacted instantly when he saw Dumbledore drawing his wand. With reflexes honed from years of Quidditch, he quickly closed the distance and his hand snaked out and snapped the wand in half while it was still in Dumbledore's grasp.

Dumbledore's face turned ashen when he looked down at the remains of the Elder Wand in his hand. Shocked, he picked up the broken half from the ground, turned, and walked up to the castle without so much as a backward glance.

Harry stood there, fuming, and a little shocked at his response towards Dumbledore drawing his wand. His heart was hammering in his chest and his hands shook slightly from the massive adrenaline rush. Taking a deep breath, he turned around and looked into the shocked faces of his two companions.

Scuffing the toe of his trainer in the dirt, he mumbled, "Sorry about that. Guess I'm still a bit high-strung from last night. I thought that he was going to attack me."

Realizing that Harry was feeling guilty about what had just happened, Susan shook off her shock and reassured him by saying, "Harry, my Aunt Amelia always says that you shouldn't draw your wand on someone unless you intend to use it. Professor Dumbledore drew his wand and you reacted to protect yourself. You did nothing wrong."

"Thanks." Harry mumbled as he sat back down near them.

Hannah had been watching Harry's interaction with the professor, marveling at the myriad of contradictions that made up his personality. He was usually mild mannered, quiet, polite, and non-confrontational until pushed or if he felt threatened by someone. Then, all bets were off.

Everyone in the Hospital Wing had heard what Harry had said to the Headmaster about being kept in the dark. The consequences were obvious for everyone to see, a dead student and a very angry Harry Potter.

Curious, Hannah asked, "Was Sirius Black your godfather?" She knew that Harry wouldn't get involved with the person that was responsible for his parent's murder unless there was a very good reason.

Susan was intrigued. Her instincts told her that there was a lot more to this story than they suspected. While she waited patiently for Harry to answer the question, she slowly reached out a hand and gave him a reassuring pat on the knee. She had discovered if she reached out slowly, so he could see it coming, Harry wouldn't flinch from the touch.

In a whisper that was barely audible over the rustling of the leaves, Harry said in a voice laced with sorrow, "Sirius was my godfather and he wasn't the Secret Keeper for my parents. That was Peter Pettigrew, the traitor. Sirius was killed during the fighting yesterday by his cousin, Bellatrix Lestrange." No longer able to speak, Harry was overcome by the loss of his godfather and the tears that hadn't fallen earlier began to stream down his cheeks.

Hannah and Susan moved to comfort Harry, each of them gently enveloping him in a hug. They hearts were filled with sorrow over how much Harry had suffered in the last twenty-four hours.

Susan's voice broke as she whispered, "It's okay, Harry. We're here for you and I know that you can make it through this." Silently, she pondered how much more would be thrown at him in the near future.

She decided that what Harry needed was an adult that would actually help him, not keep him in the dark. Tentatively, Susan asked, "Harry, would you like to meet my Aunt, Amelia Bones? She may be able to help you."

Harry's red-rimmed emerald eyes snapped up to look into Susan's blue ones. He knew that her aunt was the woman from his trial earlier that year and that she was fair in her dealings with him. His problem was that his trust in adults was at an all time low right now.

Peering into the depths of Susan's kind eyes, he saw nothing but concern and her belief that her aunt would help him. Tentatively, he said, "I don't know, Susan. Every adult that I have ever asked for help has told me to keep my head down and stay out of trouble, ignored my concerns, or just done things without telling me why." His hands were gesticulating wildly while he was making his point before he continued, "Plus, your aunt works for the Ministry and they have been doing a bang up job trying to make me out to be a complete nutter since the end of the Triwizard Tournament."

"Please, Harry." Susan paused as she slowly brought a hand up to touch his face. Once her palm was resting upon his cheek, she whispered in her almost musical voice, "Let me help you. My aunt will listen, if she can't help you, I trust her to be honest about it. Why don't you stay with my family for a few days until Aunt Amelia can come over and talk with you?"

Harry's surprise at being asked to stay with Susan's family was easily detectable in his voice, "That…that would be very nice, thank you." Inwardly, he was relieved, he really didn't want to go back to the Dursleys, and he felt that the Weasleys had enough problems to deal with right now.

Susan let out a breath that she hadn't realized that she had been holding until he accepted her invitation. Smiling softly, she pulled a spare piece of parchment and a quill from her handbag and began scribbling a note to her parents. When she was finished, she sealed the note with a spell and wrote her parent's names on the outside.

Hannah piped up when she saw the letter that her friend was writing, "Aren't the owls still being intercepted? I don't think you want to put information about Harry in a letter."

Stumped, Susan's voice was subdued when she said, "Oh, I forgot about that. What are we going to do?"

Harry hadn't forgotten about owl post being monitored, Hedwig had been injured pretty badly earlier in the year by someone trying to read his mail. Inspiration struck and he called out, "Dobby!"

There was a small pop of displaced air and Dobby appeared before them, minus his usual smile, and squeaked, "What can Dobby do for the Great Harry Potter, sir?"

Hannah and Susan were trying to hide their giggles at Dobby's enthusiastic greeting and failing miserably.

Giving the girls a look, he turned his attention back to Dobby and asked, "Dobby, would you like to work for me from now on instead of Professor Dumbledore?"

The transformation of Dobby's countenance was instantaneous. He went from slightly depressed looking to grinning like a child on a sugar high from too many Honeydukes' chocolates. Hopping up and down, Dobby practically yelled, "Dobby would be most honored, sir!"

Smiling at his tiny friends antics, Harry chuckled as he said, "Would you deliver a couple of letters for me?"

"It would be my pleasure, Harry Potter, sir!" Dobby answered enthusiastically.

Borrowing the quill and another piece of parchment from Susan, Harry scribbled a hasty note to the Dursleys telling them that he wouldn't be home anytime soon and to not bother picking him up from King's Cross Station. Handing the notes to Dobby, he said, "Please take Susan's letter to her parents and wait for a reply. The other one goes to the Dursleys. You don't have to wait for them to reply."

Harry thought that he saw a glint in Dobby's eye but it was gone in a flash so he dismissed it as a trick of the light.

Dobby reverently took the letters from his new master and popped over to the Bones residence to make his first delivery.

Susan's parents were getting ready to welcome their daughter back home when a house-elf popped into their kitchen, startling them from their afternoon tea.

Turning to the house-elf, Mr. Bones said curiously, "Hello, is there someone you need?" They didn't have any house-elves but they did know a few families that owned them. However, it was still a very rare occasion to find one in their kitchen.

Proudly, Dobby said, "I is Dobby, sir, Harry Potter's house-elf. I have a letter from Harry Potter's Susie." he finished while holding the mentioned envelope out to them. In his childlike voice, Dobby said importantly, "Harry Potter told me to wait for a reply if you wish to send one, sir."

Intrigued that Susan had sent a letter using Harry Potter's house-elf, they tore open the parchment and began to read her missive.

Juliette Bones knew her daughter very well and judging by the tone of her letter, something big had happened to Harry Potter and that Susan was offering him a helping hand.

Alexander Bones finished reading the letter from his daughter shortly after his wife of seventeen years. A feeling of pride welled up within him when he was done. She was growing up into a fine woman as evidenced by her offer to help Harry Potter.

The married couple shared a glance with each other. In those brief seconds, they silently conveyed to each other that they would gladly help any friend of Susan's.

When he spoke, his deep voice broke the spell of the moment, "Well, that was certainly interesting. What do you think happened to that young man?"

Frowning in thought, Juliette answered, "I'm not sure, but from the tenor of the letter, it sounds pretty bad. I think that he needs some type of moral support and perhaps advice. What do you think?"

Solemnly, Alexander said, "I think that we are going to have to upgrade our wards to be on the safe side. I can't imagine what it would be like if someone found out that he was staying with us." Pausing in thought before continuing, seriously, he said, "Do you want to contact Amelia, or should I?"

Looking over at the house-elf that was discreetly cleaning up their kitchen, Juliette smiled softly and said, "Why don't you write her a quick note, and I'll write a reply to Susan. Perhaps we can get Dobby to deliver them when we're finished."

Alexander's gaze followed his wife's and he almost burst out laughing when he saw the diminutive elf happily cleaning their kitchen to keep busy while he waited for their reply. Shaking his head at the happy elf's antics, he sat down at the table and began writing a letter telling Amelia that her assistance was needed at the house this evening, but not why.

Back at Hogwarts, Harry smiled, turned to face the two girls, and chuckled while he said, "Go ahead, and laugh. You know you want to." Their laughter was like a ray of sunshine warming his insides. Listening to the two young women laugh at his expense, he realized that he could make it through Hermione's death. Sometimes it was the little things in life that made it worth living and it took the laughter of two beautiful young women drove home that point.


	4. Messages and Maladies

**Chapter 4: Messages and Maladies.**

The Dursleys were just sitting down to an early supper when there was a thunderous clap in the middle of the dining room causing them all to jump in fright. Standing in the middle of the table was the oddest-looking creature that any of them had ever seen.

Dudley couldn't back away from the table quick enough and he ended up toppling his chair over backwards. The resounding crash from his large bulk hitting the floor caused a few of Petunia's precious collector plates to fall off the china hutch and shatter on the floor. 

Petunia screeched in fright, stood up abruptly, and moved away until her back was against the wall. Her eyes were as wide as saucers and her hand was covering her mouth in fright.

The vein in Vernon's temple was throbbing and his face was turning an interesting shade of puce. As his blood pressure skyrocketed, he began feeling a tingling sensation in his left arm. Shaking his left hand in annoyance, he looked up at the strange creature standing with its tiny feet in the mashed potatoes and bellowed, "What in the blue blazes is going on here?"

His shout caused Petunia to utter another muffled, "Eeep!" in fear as she fruitlessly tried to disappear into the hideous floral print wallpaper.

Dudley managed to heave himself into a sitting position only to begin scrambling backwards like a crab. Not looking where he was going, he backed right into the cabinet where the telly was precariously perched. He felt the piece of furniture shift and as he looked up the telly tipped over the edge, and landed in his lap right on top of his bits.

Petunia watched in horror as the telly fell onto her precious little boy. Forgetting about the strange creature standing on her dining room table, she shouted in alarm, "Dudders!" and bolted forward to help her whale of a son.

Trying to ignore the pitiful wails coming from his injured son, Vernon stared up at the creature standing in his dinner. It was casually looking around the room without the slightest hint of fear on its face. If anything, its gaze looked almost malicious.

Before he could begin yelling at the offensive creature, a crushing weight seemed to settle in the center of his chest and it became difficult to breathe. The pain was so intense that Vernon didn't even feel the tingling in his left arm as it began to creep up towards his shoulder. Gasping for breath while clutching at his chest, Vernon managed to gurgle, "P...Petunia!" before slumping to the ground unconscious in cardiac arrest.

Surveying the carnage around him, Dobby dropped his master's letter in the middle of the table and disappeared without a noise, his task complete.

_~AQ~_

Back in London, Amelia Bones was just finishing some paperwork regarding the break in at the Department of Mysteries when a house-elf popped into her office. Discreetly drawing her wand, she said, "What can I do for you?"

Dobby stepped forward and handed the letter to the head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement while saying happily, "I am Dobby, ma'am. I have a letter from your Alexander. Would you like Dobby to wait for a reply?"

Taking the note, Amelia quickly read it before saying, "No. That will be all, thank you." When the elf disappeared, she burned the letter and vanished the ashes. The tone of her brother's note had her concerned and curious, a combination that she didn't like one bit. Add in the fact that it was delivered by an unknown house-elf made things even more worrying.

Grabbing her traveling cloak from the coat rack, she secured her office and made her way towards the Apparition Point in the atrium of the Ministry of Magic.

Arriving at her brother's house, Amelia approached with her wand drawn. Not bothering to announce her presence, she slipped into the house and began making her way silently towards the voices she heard coming from the kitchen.

Silently, she cast, 'Homenum Revelio.' When the results of her spell showed just two people, both in the kitchen, she cautiously stepped into the room with her wand at the ready.

Alexander was sitting at the kitchen table watching the door. He knew that his note would guarantee his older sibling's presence, especially when he asked Dobby to deliver the letter to her. She was a very good Auror that hated surprises and he played on those traits masterfully. Seeing her step into the kitchen with her wand drawn, he smiled and said pleasantly, "Good evening, Ami. How nice of you to join us."

Juliette turned around to greet her sister-in-law and noticed that she had her wand drawn. Frowning, she turned back to her husband and hissed, "What did you tell her in that note?" Seeing the guilty smile on her husband's face, she gave him an exasperated look before turning back to their guest. Happily, she said, "Hello, Ami. Thank you for coming on such short notice. Would you like to join us for supper?"

Putting her wand back into its holster, Amelia smiled, pulled off her traveling cloak, and sat down at the end of the table. Her deep, husky, voice made it easy to tell that she was related to Alexander when she spoke, "Thank you, Jules. I'm famished." Turning to her brother, she smiled, and then growled affectionately, "Git. You could have just asked me to come over, you know?"

Grinning right back at her, Alexander continued the game that they had been playing for years, "Now where would be the fun in that?" Changing the topic, his deep voice held a note of gravity that was normally absent in the cheerful man when he spoke, "We are going to have a house guest for the foreseeable future and we may need your help securing the property for his protection."

Juliette was busy chopping the vegetables while her husband and sister-in-law were talking. When Alex mentioned having a guest, she looked over at Ami, and said helpfully, "One of Susan's friends from Hogwarts had something terrible happen to him yesterday and needs some help."

Quickly putting two and two together, Amelia drew her wand and put up some Anti-Eavesdropping spells before confirming her suspicions, "Harry Potter is coming here, isn't he?"

Solemnly, Alexander said, "Yes, he is. Will you help us upgrade the wards on the house tonight?"

Gazing intently into her mug of tea, Amelia said quietly, "Yes, I'll help with the wards. However, there is more to his bout of trouble than you probably know."

Concerned, Juliette abandoned her vegetables and sat down next to her husband.

Looking up into their eyes, Amelia continued, her tone grave, "Harry Potter and five of his friends broke into the Department of Mysteries trying to save his godfather. It was a trap and they ended up having a running battle with Death Eaters."

Juliette gasped in shock and covered her mouth with her hand while Alexander's expression darkened as a feeling of foreboding settled in his stomach at Amelia's troubling news.

Resigned to giving them even more bad news, Amelia said somberly, "Voldemort was seen in the Ministry last night by Minister Fudge after he dueled with Dumbledore. We are still trying to determine the exact chain of events and there are some things that I can't talk about yet due to the ongoing investigation."

Horrified, Juliette's bright blue eyes were shining with fear as she looked at her sister-in-law, hoping that she would say it was all a joke. Her voice was timid, almost shy, when she asked, "What should we do?"

Alexander put his arm around his distraught wife's shoulders and gave her a squeeze for assurance. His deep voice had an edge to it when he spoke, "We are going to ward this house with everything that we can think of, including the Fidelius Charm with one of us as the Secret Keeper. After that, we are going to all brush up on our spell work; it wouldn't do us any good if we're useless with a wand in a firefight."

Amelia was gazing at her brother with a look of pride on her face. She gave him a small smile of gratitude and said, "Well spoken. I'll get a couple of people that I trust to come over here tonight to help ward this place with everything possible. By the time that they are finished, your property is going to be a veritable fortress."

Relief flooded through Juliette as she listened to her husband and sister-in-law as they discussed the plans for the wards. She knew that she wasn't a fighter; her talents lay in an entirely different direction. When they were finished with the technical details, she asked, "Is there anything that I can do to help?"

Alexander and Amelia shared a look before he spoke up, "Yes, dear, there is. We need you to start stocking the house with food, potions, healing supplies, extra blankets, sheets, clothes, and other necessary household items." Turning to his sister, he asked her, "Anything else that I'm missing, Ami?"

"Money. You are going to need a fairly large supply of it on hand, both muggle and magical currencies." Seeing the confused look on Jules' face, she explained, "During the last war, people were afraid to go to the shops and the lines at Gringotts were terribly long. If the bank closes for some reason, it will prevent you from being put into a difficult position financially."

Nodding in understanding while taking mental notes, Juliette said, "Thanks. I'll get started on those things in the morning." She hated feeling useless and was thankful that her family understood and helped her feel like she was contributing.

Magically, Juliette was just a few steps above a squib. She was able to wield a wand and Apparate, but her spells were not that powerful. She had long ago accepted that shortcoming and had directed her energies elsewhere. Luckily, she discovered that she had a talent for Runes and pursued a career as a researcher.

Juliette was relieved when Susan did her first piece of magic at age three by levitating the vegetables from her plate onto her fathers. Her fears of having a magically weak child were gone with that one incident and she had never dwelled on it again, until now.

Alexander knew what his wife was worrying about, so he reached out a hand and grasped hers in loving support. Softly, he said, "Don't worry, Jules. Just focus on simple spells that can create distractions and aren't draining for you to cast. A few seconds respite should allow you to get to safety."

Looking over at Juliette, Amelia gave her a small nod of encouragement and said, "There is nothing wrong fleeing when you are outmatched. It takes courage to survive, what good is bravery if it gets you killed? We are going to need you to keep things as normal as possible here and that is probably the most difficult job there is."

Juliette's beautiful blue eyes were sparkling with tears of gratitude. When she finally spoke, her voice was filled with love and relief, "Thank you. I really needed to hear that."

Squeezing her husband's hand, she got up from the table and returned to the dinner preparations. Calling out over her shoulder, she said, "Dinner should be ready in about an hour. I'll come find you two when it's ready."

Nodding, the two siblings got up from the table and headed outside to start putting up as many wards as they could manage before dinner.

_~AQ~_

Saint Mungo's Hospital was a few blocks away from the Ministry of Magic in downtown London, hidden from the prying eyes of the Muggles with the simplest of disguises. The exterior looked like a department store that had gone out of business a few years ago. Signs proclaiming that everything was on sale had long since faded in the sun's rays.

Molly Weasley had been in Saint Mungo's all day and she was at her wits end. The healers had been unable to tell her much about her son's condition other than they were 'working on it'.

Stepping back into the Long Term Spell Damage Ward, she made her way past Neville's parents and headed over to her precious Ronnie's bed.

He had awoken intermittently over the course of the day and mumbled a few nonsensical words but that was about it. Throughout the day, the healers had performed numerous tests on him to make sure that he was physically fine.

Mentally, the healers weren't so sure. Ron had been under the effects of an Inebriation Jinx when he summoned the brain-like creatures with tentacles. The only thing that the Department of Mysteries would confirm was that the creatures had latched themselves onto Ron's arms and began attacking his mind.

When the healers had asked for one of the creatures to study in the hopes of finding a cure, they were quickly rebuffed. With no hard evidence, the best guess that the healers could come up with was that somehow the effects of the jinx allowed the creatures' greater access to Ron's mind.

Settling into the chair next to his bed, Molly reached out and grasped his hand in hers. She had been lost in thoughts for a few minutes when she felt him stir.

Looking into her youngest son's face, Molly whispered, "Ron, can you open your eyes?" After a few seconds, she tried again, "Ron, open your eyes, dear."

Slowly, Ron's eyes cracked open but he snapped them shut immediately and put his free arm over them to shield himself from the bright light. Letting out a slight groan, Ron mumbled, "T'bright."

Understanding her son's dilemma, Molly flicked her wand and closed the drapes. A second swish and she dimmed the lights before softly saying, "I closed the drapes and turned down the lights for you."

Another groan escaped Ron's mouth as he tried to sit up. Rubbing his temples to try to soothe the pain, he whimpered, "Head hurts." He had closed his eyes again trying to ward off the pain in his head while continuing to massage his head.

Leaning over to the nightstand, Molly picked up the light Pain Relief Potion that the healer had left behind. Putting the potion into her Ron's hand, she whispered, "It's a minor Pain Relief Potion. The healer left it for you in case you weren't feeling well."

Ron eagerly downed the potion and handed the empty vial back. Opening his eyes slowly, he looked at the person sitting in the chair next to him. He knew that she was familiar somehow but he couldn't quite make the connection. Curious, he asked, "Who are you?"

Tears sprang to her eyes when she realized that he didn't know who she was. Putting on a brave front, Molly said warmly, "I'm your mother, Molly Weasley."

Ron stared blankly back at her for a moment, and then said simply, "Oh." Looking around the room in wonder, he asked, "Do they have pudding?"

It was all Molly could do to not break down and cry right then and there. Giving her youngest son a watery smile, she said, "I'll fetch you some dear."

Stepping into the hallway, Molly slumped down into the bench in the waiting room and wept. She was still crying when her husband and daughter arrived twenty minutes later.

Arthur had picked up Ginny from Hogwarts with the intention of bringing her straight to Saint Mungo's to see her brother. He had been floored when Ginny told him that Hermione Granger had died from her injuries earlier that morning. Instead of heading straight to the hospital, he took Ginny back to the Burrow so they could compose themselves and grab a few things for Ron.

Stepping out of the elevator, he was greeted by the sight of his wife crying her eyes out. Fearing the worst, he quickly joined her on the bench and asked her, "What's wrong? Is Ron okay?"

Unable to get a verbal reply from Molly, he wrapped her into a one armed hug while gesturing to Ginny to join them on the bench.

The moment Molly realized that Ginny was there; she latched onto her youngest child and began crying harder. The occasional mumbled, "My babies," could be heard in between some of her sobs.

Father and daughter shared a look and agreed that they would tell Molly about Hermione's death later.

Ten minutes later the trio got up from the bench and made their way back to Ron's room. When they entered, they noticed that Ron was awake and looking around the room in wonder.

When he noticed three new people coming into his room, he smiled happily and said to the young woman, "Hi, you're very pretty." before turning to the two adults and saying, "Hello, Sir. Hello, Ma'am."

With tears in her eyes, Ginny turned to her mother with a silent question in her eyes.

Molly noticed the questioning look on her daughter's face and whispered sadly, "He doesn't recognize us and his memory isn't very good either." Turning to face her son, she said warmly, "Hello Ronnie." Gesturing to Arthur, she said, "This is your father, Arthur. This is your sister, Ginny. My name is Molly and I'm your mum."

Ron smiled back up at them and said, "Hello. Mum, I'm hungry. Can I have some pudding?"

Noticing that there weren't enough chairs for everyone to sit on, Arthur drew his wand and conjured two extra seats.

Before Arthur could take a seat, Ron shouted excitedly, "That looked like magic! Can you do any other tricks?"

Desperately trying not to cry, Arthur plastered a smile on his face and said pleasantly, "Yes, I can. What would you like to see?"

While Arthur was showing his youngest son magical tricks, Ginny and her mother were hugging and crying quietly in the corner of the room as they watched Ron clap in appreciation.


	5. Unpleasant Tasks

**Chapter 5: Unpleasant Tasks.**

The doors to the Casualty Center in Little Whinging flew open as two technicians guided the gurney holding Vernon Dursley quickly into the trauma center. The third technician was straddling the large man and performing chest compressions while another was bagging as they practically ran into the nearest treatment room.

A few seconds later, another gurney entered through the double swinging doors at a quick pace bearing Dudley Dursley into the ward as well.

Petunia had ridden with Dudley to the Casualty Center because she couldn't fit in the ambulance with her husband and the emergency medical technicians. Just as they were entering the ward, she heard a doctor shout, "He's in V-fib! Get the crash cart over here now!"

Seeing that her son was being cared for, she slipped off to check on Vernon. The sounds of people working frantically were easily apparent as she drew closer to the area where he had been taken. She watched in horror as the doctor yelled, "Clear!" when the nurses all backed away, he shocked her husband, trying to restart his heart.

Quietly sobbing behind her hand, Petunia continued to stare at the team of medical personnel trying to save Vernon's life. Wide eyed, she stared as the doctor tried restarting his heart three more times before he called the time of death.

The moment they pronounced Vernon dead, Petunia's eyes rolled up into her head and she fainted. The resounding crack her head made against the linoleum floor alerted the nurses that they had a new patient to tend too.

Since saving the patient was the top priority for the doctors, they did what was necessary to keep Dudley alive; they rushed him to surgery where the doctors removed his crushed testicles. They couldn't talk to Petunia since she was currently unconscious and heavily sedated, so the doctor on the scene made the call that ended the Dursley line forever.

Later that evening, two of the doctors that were on duty in the Casualty Ward were talking about the day's events while on break. Sighing, Dr. Brighton said ruefully, "I really feel sorry for Mrs. Dursley."

While shaking his head in agreement, Dr. Thompson shuddered and said gravely, "I know what you mean. Having your husband die and your son emasculated in the same evening."

Taking a drag from his cigarette while collecting his thoughts, Dr. Brighton said in relief, "I'm just glad that we won't be on duty when they break the news to her."

"Yeah, me too." said Dr. Thompson, his voice trailing off into the night as he thanked god that it wasn't him lying in the morgue.

~AQ~

Minerva McGonagall stood at the end of the driveway, unsure of whether or not she could actually go up, knock on the door, and destroy two more people's lives with the dreadful news that she was bringing. She had met the Grangers just before Hermione's first year, as she had been the one to explain the Wizarding World to them.

Steeling herself for the unpleasant task ahead, Minerva walked up to the front door and rang the bell.

A few seconds later, Mrs. Granger answered the door with a smile on her face as she said, "Hello? How can I help you?"

Trying not to break down, Minerva managed to say, "Hello. I'm Minerva McGonagall. I'm one of Hermione's professors from Hogwarts. Do you mind if I come in?"

Concerned, Diane Granger ushered the professor inside and called out, "Jim! One of Hermione's professors from school is here."

Noticing the concern in his wife's voice, Jim put down the towel that he had been drying the dishes with and quickly moved to join them in the living room. Looking at the woman's posture as he stepped into the room told him that something was definitely wrong. Introducing himself, he said, "Hello, I'm Jim Granger." He tilted his head to the side as he recognized the witch in front of him and asked, "Professor McGonagall?"

Impressed by his memory despite the situation, Minerva nodded in affirmation before saying, "I see where your daughter gets her memory from." Gesturing towards the sofa, she asked, "Do you mind if we sit down?"

"Oh. Where are my manners? Please have a seat. Would you like some tea?" Diane said apologetically as she motioned towards the couches.

Once she was seated, Minerva sighed and said, "No, thank you. I'm here on official business." Reaching up, she removed her glasses and dabbed at the tears that had sprung to her eyes.

Seeing Hermione's professor wiping her tears, both Grangers felt a sinking sensation in their stomachs. Fearing the answer, Jim asked, "Is Hermione alright?" as he clutched his wife's hand.

When Minerva looked up into the Granger's faces, she saw their expressions change from concern to despair. Holding back her sobs, she said, "I'm so sorry." before she broke down. Hiccupping through her tears, she sobbed, "Hermione died early this morning."

Diane felt as if her world had just collapsed. A strangled, "No!" escaped her lips before she threw herself into her husband's arms, wailing.

Too overcome with grief to articulate a response, Jim Granger clung to his wife with a desperate strength, hoping that this was a nightmare and that he was going to wake up soon. The tears were streaming down his face and when he looked up into the sad eyes of Professor McGonagall and he knew that this was a nightmare.

Unfortunately, it was all too real and now their only child was gone forever.

~AQ~

The Great Hall was filling up with students for the annual Leaving Feast. Unnoticed by most was the absence of a few students. It seemed that the Hogwart's rumor mill had not spread the news about Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley yet.

Harry slipped into the hall quietly, lost in the sea of students, most of who were oblivious to what had happened yesterday. The members of the DA were noticeably subdued and gathered into groups at their respective tables. Waiving goodbye to Hannah and Susan, Harry headed over to the Gryffindor table and the small group clustered at the end.

Quietly, he asked, "Do you mind if I sit with you?"

Surprised, the Gryffindor members of the DA made room for Harry in their midst. They all had the same looks of sorrow, shock, and disbelief on their faces as they were still trying to come to grips with the devastating news about Hermione and Ron.

Looking around, Harry noticed that Ginny wasn't at the table. Turning to Neville, he asked softly, "Did you see Ginny off?"

Nodding, Neville said somberly, "Yeah. Luna and I sat with her until Mr. Weasley picked her up."

Sighing, Harry replied, "Thanks. I don't think that I'm ready to face the Weasleys yet." Harry knew that he would meet with Mr. and Mrs. Weasley eventually but he wasn't looking forward to it at all.

Before Neville could reply, Dumbledore stood and stepped up to the golden lectern in the center of the raised dais. Looking around the Great Hall, he took in everything silently. The somber members of the DA were huddled together at their respective tables, the smug look on the Slytherin student's faces for having the most points in the House Cup Competition, and the eager faces of the younger students looking forward to a summer free from the responsibilities of school.

Glancing up at the ceiling, he looked at the banners for each house that were swaying in the light breeze that drifted in from the open windows. Drawing his original Ollivander made wand, Dumbledore gave it a wave and the banners transformed into the solid black mourning ones that the students hadn't seen since the end of last year. He immediately felt the difference between this wand and the Elder Wand and it was something that bothered him greatly.

Upon noticing the change in the banners, the students began muttering amongst themselves as they tried to figure out who had died. There were a few gasps from the Gryffindor table when the students began to notice the absences of Hermione, Ron, and Ginny. Over at the Slytherin table, Draco Malfoy had the biggest smile plastered on his face that anyone could ever remember seeing.

Luckily, for Malfoy, Harry had his attention focused on the Headmaster or there would have been bloodshed in Great Hall.

Before things got further out of hand, Dumbledore held up his hands for silence. When the students stopped muttering, his sorrowful voice filled the hall, "A year ago today, I announced that Voldemort had returned." He paused to let the shrieks die down at the mention of the Dark Lord's name before continuing, "Last night six of your classmates were engaged in a life or death battle with Death Eaters."

Immediately, the majority of the students turned to look at Harry Potter. His slumped posture and the absence of Ron and Hermione told them enough to understand that the Headmaster was telling them the truth.

Taking a sip from his goblet of mead, Dumbledore said somberly, "Mr. Ronald Weasley is currently in the Long Term Care Ward at Saint Mungo's. His sister, Ginevra, has left to be with her family during this difficult time and I ask each of you to offer her your support when she returns next term."

The majority of the older students were still looking over at the Gryffindor table, realizing that the black banners must be for Hermione Granger. Some of them had tears in their eyes for the loss of a friend while others were glancing at Harry with looks of pity and sympathy.

The exceptions among the students were Draco Malfoy and his cadre of friends and sycophants. They looked ready to break out into song and were having a difficult time suppressing their happiness. The most hated Mudblood in the school was gone forever, dead at the hands of one of the Dark Lord's followers.

Giving the Slytherin students a hard glare for their lack of decorum, Dumbledore continued speaking in a sad tone, "Miss Granger died from her injuries early this morning. Her loss is a tragedy of the highest magnitude." Albus paused and looked directly into Harry Potter's grief filled eyes, "I ask that you remember her and how she lived her life. Her passion for learning and for her friends guided her actions right up until her last breath. Cherish her memory, for the ones that we love are never truly gone if we remember them in our hearts."

Harry nodded in thanks to Professor Dumbledore. He was still furious at the Headmaster, but his words struck a chord through Harry's grief that helped him put a bit more perspective to Hermione's actions. He knew that in time, he would come to grips with her death, but not today.

Raising his gaze back to the rest of the student body, Dumbledore's voice turned serious as he spoke, "I would like to caution all of you to be on your guard. Do not take foolish chances by going out alone. Voldemort has indeed returned; Mr. Potter and I confronted him in the atrium at the Ministry of Magic last evening. The Minister himself, along with dozens of other Ministry employees, witnessed Voldemort's retreat after his confrontation with Mr. Potter."

The mutterings had started amongst the students again as they discussed the likelihood of Dumbledore's version of events. The Slytherin students were whispering among themselves and glaring over at Harry Potter as they debated the highly unlikely events according to Dumbledore. There was no way that any of them would believe that Potter had sent the Dark Lord fleeing from the Ministry.

Harry had pondered skipping the end of term feast and now he wished that he had. Dumbledore had just guaranteed that he was going to have a wonderful trip to London on the Hogwarts Express tomorrow morning. Looking at the other members of the DA, He could see that they too realized what the unintended ramifications of Dumbledore's speech would bring on the train.

Clearing his throat, Dumbledore concluded, "This year's feast will be in honor of our fallen comrades as a reminder that we shouldn't let their sacrifice be in vain. If you sit at home and do nothing, Voldemort has already won." Looking out at the students, he knew that he had their undivided attention. Smiling to help break the tension, he warmly said, "Tuck in!" and the tables began filling up with food from the kitchens.

Thinking over the Headmaster's words, Harry had to give the man credit. Dumbledore was a good speaker that could really get his point across when he wanted to while being equally vague in the same sentence.

There were a few life lessons that Harry had learned in the last thirty-six hours and none stuck out more than, 'Live each moment like your last, because life is a gift, not a given right.' Hermione's death drove that point home better than anything that in life there were no guarantees, except for death.

As the students began to filter out of the Great Hall to begin packing their belongings, the members of the DA began making their way over to the Gryffindor table to speak with Harry. When everyone had gathered for the impromptu meeting, Harry finally spoke, "I want to hold a small ceremony for Hermione down by the large oak tree by the lake tonight at seven."

The members of the DA agreed to be there at seven and headed up to their dormitories to pack. Hannah and Susan stayed behind to talk with Neville and Harry after everyone else had headed off. The quartet were all sitting at the end of the empty Gryffindor table in silence, Susan was next to Harry and Hannah was comforting Neville.

After a few moments of companionable silence, Susan asked, "Harry, do you need to get anything together for the service?"

Looking at Susan, then Neville and Hannah, Harry softly said, "No. I just want to head down there early to put something together to mark her favorite spot. What about you, Neville?"

Sniffling, Neville croaked out hopefully, "Can…Can I plant a few things around your marker?"

Neville's suffering brought home how much Hermione's death was affecting other people and that he didn't have a monopoly on grieving for her. Warmly, he said, "I think that Hermione would really like that." while looking into Neville's eyes.

"Thanks." said Neville before he turned to Hannah and asked, "Would you help me pick up a few plants from the Greenhouses?"

Misty eyed, Hannah replied, "I'd be honored." Turning back to Harry and Susan, she said, "We'll meet you down there as soon as we grab the plants." Standing up, she held out her hand to Neville and helped him up from the bench.

"She's a good person." Harry said as he watched the two leave the Great Hall together.

"She is." Susan replied before turning to Harry and offering him a hand up as well. Gesturing towards the doors to the Great Hall, she asked, "Shall we?"

Taking her hand, Harry stood up from his seat and they headed out towards Hermione's favorite spot by the lake. He was so lost in his thoughts that he didn't notice that he was still holding Susan's hand as they made their way out of the castle. He didn't let go until he stepped forward to open the latch on the courtyard gate that led to the grounds.

Susan was surprised that Harry held her hand until he opened the gate for her. She knew that he was distracted but at the same time, she thought that it was a good sign that he was still willing to touch others even if he didn't realize he was doing it. Touch was a comfort for people that were grieving and his unconscious actions told her that he would be fine eventually.

~AQ~

Darkness had just fallen in Northern England, providing the perfect cover for Voldemort and his Death Eaters as they approached the modest house on the hill. The air still held a slight chill as the last vestiges of spring remained.

Stopping at the edge of the property, Voldemort drew his wand and turned to his followers. Hissing in his sibilant voice, he said, "Yaxley, make sure no one escapes. Take three people and cover the back of the house. Dolohov, I want wards up to prevent them from Apparating or Portkeying out."

Voldemort waited ten minutes to make sure that the back of the property was secure, and the wards up, before turning to Bellatrix Lestrange and saying in a menacing voice, "Bring me the blood-traitors, Bella."

A wicked grin broke out the insane witch's face before she bowed and swept towards the house with her wand drawn. Not one for subtlety, she simply obliterated the front door of the house and stepped inside, cackling with laughter while looking for her targets.

Thirty seconds later a body flew from the upstairs window and landed just beyond the front porch in a bloody heap. There were distinct flashes of spells being exchanged coming from the upstairs windows and the muffled crashes of furniture being broken. Seconds later, a second body crashed through the already broken window, hitting the roof to the front porch before rolling off and landing on the ground, unconscious.

The manic grin was still in place as Bellatrix Lestrange walked out through the remains of the front door. She made her way over to the crumpled bodies and gave a sharp jab followed by an upward flick with her wand. Both bodies were hoisted up by their ankles and she began levitating them towards her master with a look of triumph on her face.

Voldemort looked up at the blood-traitors that Bella had delivered, his face a blank mask. With a contemptuous wave of his wand, he woke the two suspended prisoners up.

It took a few seconds to realize that he was hanging upside down before everything came rushing back. Eyes wide, Henry turned his head only to see his wife dangling by her ankle in the air next to him, making feeble attempts to struggle against the invisible bonds.

Since she was dangling in the air by one ankle, her long skirt had fallen and obscured her vision. She was desperately trying to push the skirt up to cover her knickers to no avail. Frustrated and too tired to continue struggling, Jane Abbott gave up and began quietly crying. She knew that her life was over the minute Bellatrix Lestrange stepped into their house.

Malevolent red eyes bore into the defiant brown eyes of Henry Abbott. His voice a mixture of mirth and madness, Voldemort hissed, "I see that you are as stubborn as ever, Henry. You never did learn to respect your betters."

With a casual flick of his wrist, Voldemort set Jane spinning slowly on the spot before turning his attention back to her husband.

Conjuring a comfortable looking chair for himself, he sat down so he was eye to eye with a red-faced Henry. Leaning slightly forward, Voldemort whispered harshly, "Before this night is over, you will learn the folly of rejecting my offer to join the Death Eaters."

The Death Eaters had all gathered around their lord and the suspended prisoners and were eagerly anticipating the festivities that were about to begin. A few of them were looking at Mrs. Abbott in eager anticipation for a variety of reasons, not a one of them good.

Noticing the looks that his servants were sending the suspended woman, Voldemort smiled and kindly said, "Thorfinn, you have twenty minutes with the lovely Mrs. Abbott." As the aforementioned witch started to scream, Voldemort said dismissively, "Use the front porch to entertain your guest and don't kill her."

Looking over at his most fervent supporter, he said, "Bella, take this disgusting blood-traitor along with you and make sure he watches everything."

Struggling frantically against his invisible bonds, Henry swayed wildly as Bellatrix levitated his body up towards the front porch where his wife was screaming bloody murder as the large blond Death Eater began enjoying her company.

An hour later, Voldemort stood from his chair and made his way up to the front porch. The Death Eaters noticed their master's approach and stood silently waiting for him to speak. The only sounds were the pitiful sobs coming from Mrs. Abbott.

Voldemort gestured for his servants to back away a few steps as he stepped into their midst. Turning his focus upon Mr. Abbott, his high-pitched voice rang out in the silence, "It's a shame that your pretty little daughter wasn't here to help entertain us this evening. Perhaps her path will cross ours some other time."

"Imperio." Voldemort incanted while jabbing his wand at the struggling man. With another flick of his wrist, Henry Abbott was released from his bonds. The glassy look in his eyes told Voldemort that his spell had taken hold. Tossing a knife at the man's feet, he hissed, "Kill your wife, slowly."

There was a brief flicker of resistance in Henry's eyes before he mechanically advanced on his wife of seventeen years, knife held at the ready. Kneeling down next to his whimpering wife, he plunged the knife into her abdomen without any hint of emotion on his face.

Jane's mind had almost snapped from the treatment at the hands of the Death Eaters. She welcomed the blissful oblivion of death when Henry was forced to stab her. Unable to speak through the pain, she tried to convey her thanks for her release from the torment in her gaze.

The look in her eyes was enough for Henry to throw off the effects of the Imperious Curse. Gazing down at the blood soaked knife in his hands; Henry dropped it in shock, pulled his wife into his arms protectively, and began rocking back and forth, as he begged for her forgiveness.

"How touching." sneered Voldemort before leveling his wand at the incoherent man's head. "This is what we do to blood-traitors. Reducto."

The top half of Henry Abbott's head exploded in a shower of blood and gore that splattered the remains of the front door and the walls. Henry's lifeless body slumped onto the dying body of his wife, their blood mixing to form a rapidly spreading pool beneath them.

Their bodies wouldn't be discovered until the morning when Juliette Bones stopped over to visit before heading over to Diagon Alley.

~AQ~

Susan had set up a few candles on small, flat, rocks around a large stone that Harry had placed on Hermione's favorite spot underneath the large oak. He was concentrating on carving her name and dates into the stone when Neville and Hannah turned up.

When Harry was finished with his work, he stepped back to let everyone get a good look at the finished product. Carved into the face of the small boulder was an open book surrounded by lilies with Hermione's name, her dates of birth, death, and the inscription, _'Those we love are never truly gone.'_

Neville stood there for a few minutes just looking at what Harry and Susan had done so far, with a sad smile on his face, he said reverently, "Its perfect. Hermione would have loved it." Kneeling down, he started putting in the flowers at the base of the headstone while Hannah lay down a bunch of white stones to mark off the shape of a grave.

When they were finished, they stepped over next to Harry and Susan and waited in silence as the rest of the members of the DA began showing up in ones and twos to say their final goodbyes.

After everyone else had headed back up to the castle, Harry, Susan, and Hannah were laying on a conjured blanket in the grass looking up at the stars in the clear nighttime sky. Each of them were drawing strength from the other two as they lay their silently, lost in their own thoughts.

~AQ~

Looking up at the very same night sky, Albus Dumbledore was twirling his original wand in his hand with a frown on his face. The changing of the banners from their house colors to the mourning black had taken far too much power to accomplish. It actually left him feeling weak for a few minutes and that concerned him deeply.

Turning his back on the view, Albus walked over to his desk and sank down into his wingback chair with a sigh. For the first time in his life that he could remember, he felt old. As he set his wand on his desktop next to the pieces of the Elder Wand, Dumbledore noticed that his hands were shaking slightly.

Clenching his hands into fists to stop the shaking, Albus slowly opened them and extended his fingers. They didn't shake as much, but they did tremble slightly. Putting his hands back down, Dumbledore frowned in thought.

The conclusion that he came too was disturbing at best. As much as he preached to others that death was but the next great adventure, he was not ready to relinquish his hold on life just yet. Unwittingly, the Elder Wand had extended his life by allowing him to use less magic when casting. That allowed the majority of his magic to focus on keeping his body in good condition.

Everyone that Dumbledore knew that was close to his age was pretty feeble while he was still going strong. He idly wondered how he missed the signs but that was a moot point now. The only thing he could do to stem the tide was to keep his magic use to a minimum unless it was absolutely necessary.

Albus knew that there was one thing that would keep him alive and allow him to use magic safely but sparingly. Heading over to one of the portraits, he tapped it with his wand and it swung open like a door. In the wall behind the painting was a large safe where he kept his most prized possessions. After entering the combination, Dumbledore opened the heavy door and removed a small velvet pouch before locking the safe and closing the painting.

Sitting back down at his desk, Albus gently placed the black velvet pouch down. Reaching out, he untied the drawstrings and carefully withdrew a blood red stone that the world thought destroyed.


	6. Opening Salvos

**From the Ashes**

**Chapter 6: Opening salvos.**

Amelia looked over at the three Unspeakables as they finished putting up the final wards around her brother's house. All three of them were magically exhausted from casting so many demanding spells in such a short amount of time. They were leaning against the fence while trying to regain their strength.

Drawing her wand, she summoned some refreshments as she walked over to join them. As she handed out the butterbeers to her colleagues, she asked, "What wards do you still have to erect?"

Taking a pull from his ice-cold butterbeer, Agent Johnson swallowed and said, "Just the Fidelius, ma'am. Who do you want the Secret Keeper to be?"

Before Amelia could answer, Juliette had stepped down from the porch and said, "I'll be the Secret Keeper." Seeing their surprised looks she ploughed on, "No one would suspect me because everyone knows that I'm barely above a squib when it comes to magical power."

"Are you sure?" Amelia said concernedly as she gazed at her sister-in-law.

"I've never been surer of anything." Juliette said determinedly as she stared right back at Amelia.

Amelia nodded towards the Unspeakables in agreement and stepped back to give the man some room to complete the spell work.

When the charm was complete, Amelia walked over to the three Unspeakables and Obliviated their memories for everyone's safety.

Turning to her sister-in-law, Juliette said, "Let's head inside, it's getting late, do you want to stay for the evening?"

"Thank you for the offer, but I really need to be getting home." Amelia said tiredly as she trudged up the steps next to Juliette to retrieve her cloak before returning home.

When they entered the living room, they found Alexander asleep in the recliner with an open book lying on his chest and a line of drool running from the corner of his mouth. Grinning, Amelia drew her camera from her pocket and quickly took a couple of pictures for use later on. Smiling, she glanced over at Juliette and mouthed, "Blackmail."

Juliette smiled back in response before waving goodnight to Amelia. Before she headed off to bed, she gently removed the book and covered him with a light blanket while gazing tenderly at her husband.

~AQ~

It was nearing midnight in Scotland and up on the highest Astronomy Tower of Hogwarts castle there was a lone figure looking out over the Forbidden Forest. Unable to sleep properly due to his nightmares from the events in the Department of Mysteries, Harry had grabbed his father's old cloak, one of Hermione's photo albums, and the Marauder's Map and headed out for a stroll to clear his thoughts.

Ending up atop the Astronomy Tower, Harry sat down on the cold stone floor with his back against one of the ramparts for support. Absent mindedly, he conjured a blue bell flame for some light and opened the photo album. As he was flipping through the pages, he was forced to blink back his tears a few times as the photos evoked memories of happier times.

The first part of the book covered Hermione's childhood before Hogwarts. The picture of her wearing a pink ballerina outfit at the tender age of three brought a wistful smile to his face. There were a few other precious photos from her childhood and they made him realize that he would never get to hear the stories behind them.

Once he reached her Hogwart's years, he found many of the photos were some of the same ones that he had in his own album. However, there were a few gems that he hadn't seen before and they brought a rare smile to the troubled teen's face.

~AQ~

Voldemort casually strode up to the modest townhome a few blocks away from the Muggle Prime Minister's residence under a Disillusionment Charm. Gazing at the unimposing wooden door in front of him, he silently began casting detection spells to check for wards. He nodded to himself as he found what he expected before he stepped over to check the window to the left of the door.

Quickly, Voldemort ran through the detection charms again and a predatory grin broke out on his face at the results. Easily bypassing the protections on the window, he climbed inside the home and closed the window behind him.

Standing still for a moment, Voldemort let his eyes adjust to his dark surroundings before moving over to the front door where he began casting his own set of wards that would trigger the moment that the occupant entered. To be safe, he repeated the process on all of the first floor windows so there would be no easy escape.

While he waited, Voldemort reflected upon his mistake of being seen in the Ministry and his plan to rectify that error. He had deemed certain influential individuals would either join him or die.

Instinctively, he knew that this particular target would have to die, quickly and quietly. Voldemort wanted to send a message with this particular death while at the same time leaving people to wonder what had really happened. There would be no witnesses and he was counting on the lack of information in a vacuum to ensure that panic would arise.

Unsure of when his prey would be returning he settled into his hiding place for what he hoped would not be a long wait.

~AQ~

Amelia was trudging up to her modest brownstone not too far from 10 Downing Street after a magically exhausting day securing her brother's house. Having spent her entire adult life working in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, she had honed her situational awareness and a healthy dose of paranoia to a razor's edge. Even in her tired state, she was keenly aware of what was going on around her as she scanned the area for signs of trouble.

With a small sigh of relief, she noticed that the wards on the front door had not been disturbed. Turning the key in the lock, she discretely removed her wand before pushing the door open and stepping inside. As she flicked on the light, she noticed that one of her Warning Charms had been set off. Someone stepping on the item, in this case her living room rug, activated a simple Color Changing Charm and her once cream-colored rug was now a lurid orange.

Her heart was thundering in her chest as she struggled to maintain her weary façade. The moment that the door clicked shut, Amelia sprung into action; she snapped off the living room lights and rolled to her left taking refuge behind the couch.

The moment the lights went out, Voldemort knew that the cagey old witch had detected his entrance somehow. He fired off a quick Killing Curse towards the floor in front of the door hoping that she had ducked down the moment the lights went out.

Silently cursing his bad luck and overconfidence, Voldemort crouched down and moved towards the open doorway to his left. The bright red of a silent Stunning Spell splashed into the wall right where he had been standing moments before. Careful not to stand in the light of the doorway, he stayed low to the ground and backed into the next room while never taking his eyes off the dimly lit room in front of him.

Amelia knew that there was at least one assailant in her house. What she didn't know was that person's identity or if they were alone. Silently, she cast Homenum Revelio and watched as a pinkish mist lit up from the next room indicating only one more person in the house with her.

Needing to act fast in case they had reinforcements coming, she called out, "I know you're alone. If you give up now, I promise that you won't be harmed."

Realizing that the element of surprise was lost, Voldemort sent a Signal Flare Spell into the living room in the hopes that he would catch Amelia off guard. When he heard her gasp of surprise, he conjured a solid silver shield on his arm emblazoned with Slytherin's Crest before boldly stepped into the living room with his wand at the ready.

Temporarily blind, an involuntary gasp escaped Amelia's lips before she could stop herself. Knowing that she only had seconds before her attacker was upon her, she tried to Apparate away only to discover that there were wards in place preventing her escaping that way.

Her blood ran cold when she heard a high-pitched laugh coming from the area of the kitchen. It was a wheezing laugh that sent shivers down her spine. Only one person had a laugh like that and she had been unfortunate to hear it once during the last war. Fortunately, Voldemort never knew that she was present when the McKinnon's were murdered or she would have joined them in their eternal slumber.

Unable to see, Amelia waved her wand and sent the couch that she was hiding behind hurtling towards the doorway followed closely by a silent Blasting Hex.

Voldemort's eyes widened in surprise as the huge sofa in the middle of the room came flying towards him at a tremendous rate of speed. Hastily, he flicked his wand to send the sofa back at his opponent as he dove back through the doorway into the other room.

Milliseconds before his spell connected, Amelia's Blasting Hex destroyed the sofa in a shower of debris. Voldemort's spell was unaffected by the change of composition of the sofa and instead of sending the large object back, it sent the shrapnel hurtling back.

Still seeing spots from Voldemort's curse, Amelia watched in horror as the remains of the couch were heading right back at her. With no where left to hide and not enough time to erect a shield, she quickly turned away from the blast and curled into a ball.

Her screams of pain were music to Voldemort's ears as the pieces of the shattered sofa tore into her back. With a feral grin on his face, he picked himself off the floor, checked his shield, and stepped back into the room.

Fighting through the pain in her back and legs, Amelia struggled into a standing position with her wand held shakily in front of her. Her worst fears were confirmed when Voldemort himself stepped into the room with a predatory look on his face.

Desperately trying to ignore the feeling of dread welling up in her chest and the pain in her body, she angled her body to present a smaller target while franticly trying to figure a way out of her current predicament.

"Hello, Madame Bones." Voldemort said pleasantly as if they were talking over afternoon tea. When she didn't answer after a few seconds, his voice took on a mocking tone, "Tut, tut. For such an upstanding witch, you have terrible manners." Without any warning, he snapped his wrist sharply and sent a spell rocketing towards her.

Amelia had been slowly working her way towards the window behind her in hopes of escaping while Voldemort taunted her. She was wholly unprepared when his silent Bludgeoning Charm connected with her ribs.

The force of the impact lifted Amelia off her feet and sent her bloody body careening through the window behind her. Screaming in pain from her wounds and being blasted through the window, Amelia Apparated away with a thundering pop. Unable to focus properly on her destination due to the intense pain, she ended up splinching herself as she made her escape.

With a scowl on his face, Voldemort casually strolled over to the window that he had just inadvertently blasted his prey through. There was blood spattered all over the window sill and the floor. Based upon the amount of blood, he knew that she would die shortly from her wounds if she didn't receive medical help soon. Glancing outside, he noticed a bloody appendage lying on the ground beneath the broken window.

He summoned the mangled body part, vanished the blood outside, and repaired the window with a casual twirl of his wand. Smiling in triumph, he tossed Amelia's bloody arm, with her wand still clutched in the hand, into the fireplace and quickly incinerated them both. When the arm and wand were just a pile of ash, he vanished the ashes and turned his attention to the house.

Voldemort was surprised to find the house a mix of magical and muggle items but didn't let that deter him from his search. Stretching his senses to their fullest, he began searching for the telltale signs of magical concealment.

It wasn't until he reached the study that his search yielded positive results. Beneath the desk there was a magical safe hidden behind a minor ward. Proving why he was one of the most feared wizards of the age, he quickly overwhelmed the protections and opened the safe.

The interior of the safe had been expanded magically so there were quite a lot of items to sort through. Not willing to risk taking unnecessary time, Voldemort conjured a bag and charmed it to be larger and lighter before he began transferring the contents from the safe.

His smile grew as when he discovered a small bag that was full of gold based upon the jingling noises inside. Looking quickly inside the bag to confirm his find, he was pleasantly surprised to find that there must have been thousands of galleons and even some pound notes in the bag. As he continued to transfer the contents of the safe he realized that this was Amelia's emergency supplies if she had to disappear in a hurry.

Finished gathering his loot, Voldemort stood up from his spot and headed down to the kitchen looking for the microwave. He knew that the Aurors were fond of saying that certain attacks by his Death Eaters were actually gas explosions or some other tripe. For once, he was going to give them their wish.

He pulled out an aerosol can and placed it into the microwave and closed the door. Turning to the oven, he levitated it away from the wall before locating the gas line. As the newly severed line began spewing gas into the kitchen, Voldemort punched in ninety minutes on the cooking time and activated the microwave before leaving the house.

Voldemort knew that there would be chaos with a gas explosion this close to the Prime Minister's house. The muggle authorities would be all over the place making it that much harder for the Aurors to do their jobs properly.

Accepting that everything didn't go exactly to plan, he consoled himself with the minor victory. Taking one last look around the neighborhood, he apparated back to his safe house to go through all of the items that he had pulled from Amelia Bone's safe while contemplating his next move.

~AQ~

Alexander Bones was dozing in his favorite chair by the fire in the lounge when he was startled awake by the pop of apparition. Quietly, he extricated himself from his chair and drew his wand before making his way over to the window. Peering out onto the porch, he spied a crumpled form lying in a rapidly spreading pool of blood.

Instinctively, he knew that the person had to be his sister but she had drilled the necessity for caution into him. Easing open the door, he scanned his surroundings before moving to the prone body on the ground.

As he felt for a pulse, Amelia gave out a low moan of pain. Relieved that she was alive, he shouted into the house, "Jules! Bring the kit, Amy's hurt pretty bad!"

Juliette Bones had been sleeping lightly but at her husband's call, she bolted upright, snatched her wand from the bedside table, and ran to the pantry to grab the medical kit. The site of her husband frantically working on the bloody body of his sister caused the bile to rise up into her throat.

Pushing her own discomfort aside, Juliette moved to her husband's side and knelt down and began pulling out necessary bandages and a Blood Replenishing Potion.

Alexander was methodically removing the shards of wood from Amelia's back and legs while Juliette administered the potion. "It's going to be okay, Amy." Jules whispered as she held the red tinted potion up to Amelia's lips. "I need you to drink this to help with the blood loss."

Amelia was lost in a haze of pain but the soothing voices were familiar to her and she complied automatically. As she tried to spit the vile tasting potion out, an authoritative male voice said, "Swallow that, Amy. It will help you heal faster."

Alexander relaxed a touch when his sister began swallowing the potion. As the potion continued to do its work, he was able to focus more on removing the remaining debris that riddled her body. As he worked, he wondered who got the drop on his sister.

After waiting for the first potion to take effect, Juliette grabbed the Pain Relieving Potion and began to coax Amelia into drinking some of it. "This one will help with the pain." She said softly as she tipped the potion into her sister-in-law's mouth.

Amelia could only manage a small nod as she began swallowing the helpful brew. As the effects of the potion began to take hold, she sighed in relief when the world began to return into focus. Carefully, she raised her right arm only to discover that it was missing from the bicep down. She knew that she had probably splinched herself when she escaped but seeing the stump where her arm used to be was still alarming.

"What happened, Amy?" Juliette asked while she applied bandages to the wounds that Alexander had finished cleaning of debris.

It took a moment for Amelia to answer while she collected her thoughts through her haze of pain. "He was waiting for me when I got home." She managed to rasp out. "I got the first spell off but he was faster."

"Take it easy right now, Amy. We need to get you healed up and then you can tell us everything. Should I attempt to reattach your arm?" Alexander asked while pointing to the stump.

"Don't bother." Amelia said bitterly. Taking a deep breath, she ploughed on, "I'm sure that 'He' either destroyed or cursed it."

It was impossible for the married couple to miss the bitterness in her voice or that the 'He' mentioned was none other than Voldemort himself. They had no doubts that he would happily do something horrible to her missing arm.

Alexander placed a hand on her left arm and said warmly, "The good news is that you're alive. Everything else can be dealt with." Looking into her eyes, he saw her grim determination to get through this new hardship. "Can you stand?" he queried as he checked her vital signs one last time.

"I'll need some help up." Amelia said as she winced and fell back onto the front porch when she couldn't gain her balance due to her missing limb.

"Come on, up you get." said Alexander as he and Juliette hoisted Amelia up to her feet between them. They led her into the sitting room on the first floor where Alexander proceeded to transfigure the furniture into a complete bedroom set.

Turning to his wife, Alexander whispered, "While you help Amy get ready, I'll go and clean up the porch and put everything away." Before he stepped out of the room he said, "Get some rest, Amy. We'll take care of everything."

Amelia sighed in exhaustion while Juliette cleaned her up and got her ready for bed. By the time her head hit the pillow, Amelia surrendered herself into Morpheus' welcome embrace.


	7. Down the Rabbit Hole

**From the Ashes**

**Chapter 7: Down the Rabbit Hole.**

Juliette awoke with a start and it took her a moment to catch her bearings. After a few seconds, the previous night's events came back to her with horrifying clarity. Getting out of the camp bed, she padded over to see how her sister-in-law was doing only to find her awake and looking around the room.

"Good morning, Ami. Can I get you anything?" Juliette asked helpfully.

"Got any spare arms hanging around the house?" Amelia groused while gazing down at the bandaged stump where her wand arm used to be.

Jules leaned down and squeezed Ami's foot supportively before changing the bandages on her arm. The stump wasn't infected which relieved Jules immensely. After rubbing some anti-scarring cream into the skin, she re-wrapped the area and helped Ami into a sitting position.

With a grunt of effort, Amelia struggled to her feet and followed Jules into the kitchen for a spot of breakfast. Once they were seated at the table, she discovered how difficult it really was to attempt to eat with her left hand.

Dropping her spoon in disgust, Amelia growled, "Bloody fantastic! Being left handed is going to take some major getting used to."

Reaching across the table, Jules clasped Amelia's hand in support and said soothingly, "It will take some time but I know you can adapt. You should probably have Alex go with you to work today. At least until you can get a new wand and have a healer exam you."

"I agree." Alexander rumbled in his deep voice as he stepped into the kitchen and poured himself some tea. "You need to let people see you, Ami. It's further proof that Voldemort is back. Even though you lost your arm, you escaped and that's something not many people alive today can lay claim to."

Amelia grunted in agreement as she took a sip of her tea. Begrudgingly, she agreed with her brother before saying resignedly, "All right. You can escort me to Ollivander's, the Ministry, and then to St. Mungo's."

Turning her attention to Jules, Amelia asked, "What are your plans this morning?"

"I'm going to meet Jane and then we are going to go to the Alley together." Juliette answered while checking the time. "If you two are going to be okay, I'm going to get ready to leave." Juliette said while rising from the table.

Alexander turned to look at his sister and she unflinchingly met his gaze. Something passed between them silently and he nodded in acceptance before asking, "Should we pick up Susan and Harry before they get on the train at Hogsmeade?"

Amelia nodded in agreement with the idea before adding, "That's a good idea. If Dumbledore has watchers on Harry, and I'm sure he does, then it would be for the best if we spirit him away before they have a chance to prepare themselves for his arrival at Kings Cross."

While buttering a croissant, Alexander said, "I'm going to need a Portkey to bring Harry and Susan with me. Would you make me one?"

"I don't think I could right now. The incantation is 'Portus.' Just focus on both of your destinations when you perform the spell." Amelia said with a scowl at her stump of an arm.

"That's it?" Alexander blurted after hearing his sister's explanation on how to make a portkey. "If it's that simple, why all the tripe about that spell being dangerous and restricted for creation by Ministry employees only?"

Amelia's smile was grim as she replied, "It's all about control. Ministry-made portkeys are all traceable. That's why they don't tell anyone how to make them."

Her admission left a foul taste in his mouth and a sinking feeling in his stomach. Not really wanting the truth but fearing that he needed to know, Alexander asked tentatively, "How much of our lives does the Ministry really keep watch over?"

Rubbing the bridge of her nose to try and stem her forming headache, Amelia whispered, "That rabbit hole is a lot deeper than you can possibly imagine, Alex." The dismay was clear on her brother's face as she began shedding some light on his fears. "Not only can the Ministry trace portkeys, they can trace apparition, wand signatures, specific spells, and even specific words with the use of a taboo."

"No…" Alexander whispered in horror as the ramifications if the Ministry fell into Voldemort's hands. After regaining his wits, he asked, "How do they trace those things?"

Putting down her cold tea, Amelia somberly explained, "Most of this was invented since the last war with Voldemort so some of it is still being implemented. When anyone visits the Ministry, they have to check their wands at the security desk. That scale makes a record of the wand and then the information is sent to a department very similar to the one for underage monitoring."

"Hang on," Alex interrupted, confusion and curiosity warring for domination on his features, before he continued, "Then why aren't there all kinds of arrests being made for the illegal spells being used by criminals and the Death Eaters?"

Amelia's staccato laugh held no mirth in it as she answered his question with another, "What happens if you have more than one wand or don't bring one to the Ministry when you visit?"

The color drained from Alex's complexion as he thought through the ramifications of his sister's revelation. Hesitantly, he said, "Let me guess, the department that's in charge of the system is also in the hands of a pure-blood that is either a Death Eater or sympathetic to Voldemort's cause?"

"Right in one." Amelia growled out in frustration while nodding in confirmation. "The same thing holds true for the Department of Magical Transportation. When you are tested, they scan your Apparition signature and add it to the file. They do that even if you fail the test in order to track illegal apparition."

Lifting his head out of his hands, Alexander grimly asked, "When did the Ministry start to implement these procedures?"

"Nineteen Eighty Four." Amelia replied tonelessly, her admission conveyed how deep and dark the rabbit hole really was and how much trouble they were in. Most of the Wizarding population of Britain was probably wrapped up one way or another in this net.

Determination blazing in his eyes, Alexander looked into his sister's weary visage and said, "We need to destroy those records, the sooner the better."

"I agree." Juliette spoke up from the doorway with a hint of steel in her voice. She had wandered into the room just in time to hear Amelia's explanation and had been too horrified to speak until now.

As she entered the kitchen and sat down, she placed her wand on the table and said, "Take my wand. I've never been to the Ministry and I didn't purchase my wand in England. Try not to break it; I don't fancy another trip to Germany to get another."

Amelia looked into her sister-in-laws eyes in gratitude at the generous offer. Carefully picking up the wand, she gave it a clumsier than normal wave but still managed to produce a bouquet of flowers. "Thank you, very much. I'll take care of it as if it were my own." Pushing the wand back across the table to Jules, she said, "However, I would feel much better if you had a wand when you head over to the Abbots. Once you grab Jane, just pop back over here and lend me your wand then."

Grabbing her wand from the table, Jules warmly said, "Well, I'm off to Jane's. I should be back in a few minutes." Juliette said before kissing her husband goodbye and patting Amelia on the shoulder as she made her way out.

Once she was outside the house, Juliette concentrated on the front porch of the Abbotts and turned on the spot, disappearing with a loud crack.

She reappeared on their porch an instant later and lost her balance as she slipped in the congealed blood of her friends. It took a moment before Jules realized what she was sitting in and then she started hyperventilating as she took in the carnage around her.

Henry's mutilated body was slumped on top of Jane's but there was no mistaking that Jane might be alive because Juliette was looking right into the lifeless eyes of her best friend. In her shock, Jules brought her blood-covered hands up to her cheeks and began screaming at the top of her lungs.

Back at the Bone's residence, Amelia and Alexander were talking about heading over to Diagon Alley with Jules and Jane before going their separate ways. After ten minutes of planning, they began to get concerned when Jules hadn't returned with her friend in tow.

"Something's not right." Alexander said concernedly as he looked at the front door.

"I agree." Amelia replied as she drummed her fingers on the table, the only obvious sign that she was anxious. "I'll stay here, why don't you go and check on them?"

Nodding in agreement, Alexander stood up from his spot at the table and drew his wand before making his way out of the house, a nervous determination etched into the lines of his face.

Just as he was about to leave, he heard his sister's quiet encouragement of, "Be careful."

"I will." He whispered back as he turned on the spot and vanished with the slightest of pops.

He stumbled when he reappeared on the Abbott's front porch; on instinct, he reached out and steadied himself on the frame of the door. The moment his hand made contact with the wood, he withdrew it hastily from the sticky surface. Before he could examine his hand, the screams of his wife drew his attention.

Whipping his head around, he saw Jules on her knees covered in blood and something else he wasn't sure he wanted to identify. Hurrying over to her side, he began checking her over for injuries.

Satisfied that she wasn't hurt, he gently pulled her to her feet while softly saying, "Shhh…Jules, you're okay." Looking down at the bodies of their dead friends sadly, he shook his head and began to lead his wife away from the carnage.

Jules quieted at her husband's voice, but she continued to hyperventilate in shock. Her eyes were unfocused even though they were darting around wildly.

"I'm going to Apparate us home, okay?" He softly told his trembling wife as he pulled her closer to him before turning on the spot.

They reappeared in the entry hall of their house and he called out urgently, "Ami, get a Calming Draught ready for Jules."

Amelia instantly knew that something had gone very wrong and was already returning to the table with the requested brew by the time her brother and his wife entered the kitchen. Her experienced eye took in numerous details in seconds; Jules was covered in blood and globs of grey matter while her brother had blood on one of his hands and his knees.

Mutely, she handed the requested potion to Alexander and watched as he silently coaxed Jules to drink the contents of the entire phial. As Juliette began to relax under the potion's influence, she whispered, "How bad?" She knew that the Abbott's must be dead but the investigator in her needed details.

Alexander tore his concerned gaze from his wife and managed to stammer out, "Henry and Jane were both murdered on their front porch." As he looked into his sister's eyes, he silently conveyed that he would tell her as much as he could once Juliette was cleaned up and resting comfortably.

Gently leading his distressed, but much calmer, wife up to their bedroom, Alexander assisted her into the loo, removed her bloodstained clothes, and helped her into the shower.

While Amelia was waiting for her brother to return, she snatched up Juliette's wand where Alexander had set it on the table and conjured a Patronus to send a message to one of the few Aurors that she trusted, Gawain Robards. They had come up through the Academy together and were partners for years before she was promoted to the Head of the Department.

When her Patronus emerged from the wand, she looked into its eyes and said gravely, "Gawain, I need you to take a task force to the Abbotts. They were murdered last night." Her Wolverine Patronus nodded once before floating away to deliver her message.

As the light in the kitchen returned to normal, Amelia turned her thoughts to her niece's best friend, Hannah Abbott. There was no way that they could let the young woman return to her parent's house now. She was going to need the support of friends and loved ones because Voldemort had just made her the last Abbott alive.

With a sigh, Amelia struggled to her feet and made her way into the living room where she ungraciously settled into the couch to wait for her brother so he could fill her in on the gruesome details.

Fifteen minutes later, a very shaken Alexander stumbled into the living room and practically fell into his favorite recliner by the fire. "She's resting now. I gave her a small bit of Dreamless Sleep Potion that should last an hour or so. Once she wakes up, we can head over to Diagon Alley to get you a new wand." Alexander said tiredly while looking over at his sister's weary form.

Amelia nodded her head in recognition of Alexander's words while she stared into the empty hearth of the fireplace thinking about what she needed to do. After a few minutes of companionable silence, she finally spoke so softly that Alexander had to concentrate to hear her, "I need to go over to the Abbott's."

Holding her palm up to forestall his interruption, Amelia continued softly, "If you can, it would help if you told me everything that you remember. I already sent Gawain to investigate the scene."

Rubbing his hand down his face while grimacing, Alexander took a few seconds to compose his thoughts before recounting the horror that he snatched Jules from.

Twenty minutes later, Amelia was walking up the gravel path to the front porch of the Abbott home. Stopping ten feet from the steps, she paused to take in the scene around her. Gawain was marking the scene with evidence tags while Auror Dawlish was busy photographing the tags and the areas around them.

Carefully, Amelia picked her way around the evidence tags that dotted the crime scene. Stepping up to Gawain and said quietly, "Morning, Robards. What do you have to report?"

Robards was about to answer his superior's request when he noticed her injury and blurted, "Merciful Merlin! What happened to your arm?"

His outburst caught the attention of the rest of the investigative team and they all made their way over to their injured superior. The healer among the group immediately started casting diagnostic spells on his superior completely ignoring her protests.

Annoyed at all the jabbering coming from her subordinates, Amelia finally snapped and barked out, "Enough! Voldemort showed up at my house and I escaped after a quick but brutal duel with him."

At the mention of the Dark Lord's name, several of the Aurors present flinched and looked around in fear. Disgusted at her subordinates behavior, Amelia growled out, "Saying his name isn't going to get you killed! Now get back to you jobs."

Spying one of her rookies trying to look inconspicuous, she pointed at the young woman and crooked her finger in a come here gesture. Once Auror Tonks was standing at attention in front of her, Amelia said softly, "At ease, Auror Tonks." When she relaxed, Amelia continued in a somber tone, "I want you to go in there and pack up their belongings. Make sure to label everything by room and then bring the trunks out here to me."

"Yes ma'am." Tonks said with a slight bow before she turned and went about completing her task.

Gawain was studying his boss' body language while she gave instructions to Tonks. He noticed how tired she appeared so he silently conjured a table and two chairs right in front of her.

Amelia turned her attention to her long time friend and gave him a smile of thanks as she sat down.

"Are you going to be okay, boss?" Gawain asked in concern.

Running her hand over the pinned up sleeve where her arm should have been, Amelia said softly, "Eventually, but it will be awhile before I'm comfortable casting left handed."

Robards reached over and patted Amelia's hand in support while saying, "If you need anything, just ask."

"Thank you." Amelia said while looking into his eyes for a few seconds. Moving the discussion back to the task, she asked, "Please put up some privacy spells before we continue."

Upon hearing her unusual request, the hairs on the back of his neck stood on end. Once he was finished putting up as many spells as he could think of, Gawain asked, "How bad is it?"

Looking at his superior's grim expression, his shoulders slumped slightly as he whispered, "That bad, huh? Are we going to have to go into hiding if things go pear shaped?"

"You should go into hiding now and we'll need to convince as many of the Department Heads that we trust to do the same." Amelia replied. Seeing his nod of acceptance, she continued, "If we can, we are going to have to go behind Fudge's back and start going after the Death Eaters that escaped prosecution last time."

Gawain gave a predatory smile upon hearing Amelia's decision to bring the battle to the enemy. Leaning forward slightly, he said eagerly, "Snatch and grab, or do you want to do this by the numbers?"

"Snatch and grab is the best way to proceed. We don't want to give them any warning. Use whatever ruse you can to get them alone. I want them spilling their secrets under the influence of Veritaserum. Quietly send them through the Veil in the Department of Mysteries when you're finished." Amelia said with steel in her voice.

Pausing to let Gawain digest the plan, she waited a few moments before she solemnly, "I also want you to quietly check everyone that works at the Ministry for the Imperious Curse and a Dark Mark." She held his gaze for a moment while he thought through a few things before continuing. When she finally spoke, her voice had a hard edge to it, "If you find someone with a Dark Mark, question them under Veritaserum, and then give them the same treatment as the others that escaped prosecution. Agent Johnson will help you get them down there discreetly once you're ready to dispose of them."

He knew the plan Amelia was outlining was highly illegal but due to the rampant corruption within the Ministry, he didn't think that they would be able to win the war any other way. His voice rang with determination as his said, "I'll make sure we get right on it, Ma'am."

Just as he was about to return to his duties, Amelia's rasped menacingly, "Get Lucius Malfoy first. He's the money behind the Dark Lord."

Robards shot her a feral grin while sketching off a quick salute as he exited the privacy spells and returned to his duties.

Getting up from her seat, Amelia headed over to where Auror Tonks was piling the belongings of the Abbott family for transport. Silently, she looked at the labels on the chests that were on the ground in front of her while thinking about the Abbotts and the good times that they had shared over the years. With a sigh, she began sending the trunks to her brother's house in preparation of Hannah's arrival later that evening.

~AQ~

Harry spent the night on the top of the Astronomy Tower intermittently leafing through Hermione's photo album and stargazing. As the sky lightened indicating the dawning of a new day, he stood up and leaned against the ramparts to watch the sun come up over the horizon.

As the suns rays bathed the tower in a golden light, Harry closed his eyes and let the warmth wash over him. The heat from the suns rays crystallized the tears that were silently streaming down his face as he thought of Hermione and her love of sunrises.

Once the sun was fully over the horizon, Harry shook the soreness from his muscles and climbed beneath his invisibility cloak before making his way back to Gryffindor Tower. Surprisingly, he encountered no teachers or prefects out on patrol during his walk back to the tower. Filing that information away for later, Harry gave the portrait the password and climbed silently up to the fifth year boys dormitories to gather the rest of his things.

Harry finished his packing quietly then stepped into to the loo to take a quick shower before heading down to breakfast.

The Great Hall was almost empty with the exception of a couple of the professors and a few students. Stepping over to the empty Gryffindor Table, Harry sat down and began putting a few things to eat onto a napkin. Packing his make shift picnic into his bag, Harry set off towards Hermione's shrine to say goodbye before heading back to the Dursleys.

The sun was reflecting off Hermione's white gravestone when Harry knelt down to pay his respects. Placing a hand on the marker, Harry bowed his head and choked out, "I'm so sorry, Hermione. You were right about it being a trap and you ended up paying the ultimate price for my failure."

For the next ten minutes, he continued to pour out his soul. In the end, he was exhausted but he felt better than he had in ages. Just getting some of those things off his chest seemed to help him cope a little better.

Stuffing the remnants of his breakfast into his cloak pocket, Harry turned to head up to the castle only to see Susan and Hannah coming down the path towards him. Giving them a wave and a small smile, he said warmly, "Good morning. I was just talking with Hermione before we left for the summer."

Hannah gestured towards the shrine and when Harry nodded, she stepped over to say her own goodbyes to her recently departed friend.

Susan and Harry moved back to a respectable distance to allow Hannah some privacy. While they stood sentry, they enjoyed the peaceful tranquility of the forest and the lake. Susan marveled at the easy silence that Harry created. He was content to just sit and watch rather than filling the silence with useless chatter. She found it a trait that really endeared him to her.

When Hannah was finished saying her goodbyes, she headed back over to wait with Harry so Susan could say her farewells. Softly, she whispered to Harry, "How are you holding up?" When he turned his piercing gaze to her, she could see the suffering in its emerald depths. Reaching out slowly, she grasped his hand and said, "It will get better eventually."

Harry nodded his head in acceptance but remained silent as he stared into her compassionate hazel eyes. When Susan returned, he gave her a small smile and asked, "Shall we head up to the castle and collect our stuff? I want to get a compartment near the front."

A half an hour later, the three teens were heading down to the train station in one of the Thestral drawn carriages in silence as they watched the castle grow smaller in the distance.

As they were pulling their luggage down from the carriage, Susan blurted out, "Daddy?"

Before she could rush over to him, Harry seized her arm and pulled her behind him while leveling his wand at Mr. Bone's chest. His voice low and threatening, Harry growled, "Keep your hands away from your wand." Without taking his eyes off the newcomer, Harry asked, "Susan, ask him something only your father would know."

Trusting Harry, Susan asked her father, "What did I used to do to the vegetables that I hated as a kid?"

Alexander was mildly surprised when the Boy-Who-Lived trained his wand on him. Just as he was about to dismiss the threat, he felt the magic roiling off the young man, and it brought him up short. It was power, pure and simple, and it was being directed at him should the boy feel that he was a threat.

Slowly, Alexander raised his hands palms out and answered calmly, "You used to levitate them onto my plate. It took me a while to catch on too." He finished with a light chuckle.

Susan slowly lowered Harry's arm while saying, "That's my father, Alexander Bones." Looking up at her dad, she said proudly, "Dad, this is Harry."

A small amount of relief flooded through him when the feeling of magic receded and the boy's wand was lowered. Stepping forward, he extended his hand and said warmly, "Pleasure to meet you. Susan's mentioned you in some of her letters home."

"Thank you, sir." Harry replied while he shook Alexander's hand.

Turning his attention to the three teens, Alexander said quietly, "Something has happened and we don't think it is safe for you three to ride the train back to London. I've brought a Portkey to take us home." Pulling a length of rope from his robe pocket, he held it out to them.

Once everyone was touching the rope and their luggage, he looked into their worried faces and activated the Portkey. The last thing he saw at the station was the concerned Hagrid pushing his way through the crowd to get to them.

Hagrid had been quietly watching the trio from across the station when he saw a large man approach them. When Harry drew his wand on the man, he began making his way towards them through the crowded platform.

Just as he was about to speak up, the four people in front of him vanished in a swirl of light and magic. Mumbling to himself, he said, "Tha's not good." Before taking off towards the castle at a run to inform Dumbledore that Harry Potter had just taken a portkey with a man that he hoped was Alexander Bones, Susan, and Hannah Abbott rather than boarding the train.


	8. The choices we make

**From the Ashes**

**Chapter 8: The choices we make.**

They arrived on the front lawn just outside the edges of the Fidelius Charm in a swirl of colorful light as the portkey deposited them on the ground. As he picked himself up, Harry mumbled, "Merlin, I hate portkeys."

Looking around, Harry realized that they were standing in the middle of a field with no house in sight. Turning his gaze to Mr. Bones, he said calmly, "Fidelius Charm?"

Susan was looking to the area where her house should be, then to her father and Harry. Confused, she blurted, "Where's the house? What's a Fidelius Charm?"

Alexander Bones wasn't easily surprised yet the young Mr. Potter had managed to throw him off guard twice in the last fifteen minutes. Recovering his composure, he nodded yes while pulling a piece of parchment out of his robes.

Seeing that his daughter was about to start another round of questions, he quickly intervened and said, "Quickly, you need to read and memorize this."

Already familiar with the process, Harry calmly did as he was asked and nodded when he saw the house appear behind Mr. Bones.

Frustrated at the lack of answers, Susan was rapidly reaching her boiling point. Before she had a chance to vent her frustrations, Harry tapped her on the arm and whispered, "Just memorize what's on the paper and your questions will be answered."

Mollified, Susan glanced at the paper and gasped as the house seemed to appear out of thin air right where it should have been.

Hannah had followed Harry's lead figuring that he had been exposed to whatever type of charm that was hiding the house. Her sense of unease grew as the usually chipper Mr. Bones ushered everyone inside and led them to the sitting room.

Settling himself into the chair facing the teens, Alexander sighed and ran a hand through his thinning hair while trying to compose his thoughts. Finding no better way to handle the situation, he looked right into Hannah's eyes, grasped her hands in his and choked out, "Hannah, your parents were murdered by Death Eaters last night ."

The moment Mr. Bones grabbed her hands; Hannah began to hyperventilate as the feeling of dread welled up inside of her. Whatever else Susan's father was going to say was drowned out by her wail of grief.

Suddenly, Hannah felt two pair of arms encircle her from the sides and she turned into Susan's embrace and began sobbing in earnest.

Holding their distraught friend between them, Harry and Susan shared a meaningful look before Harry whispered into Hannah's ear, "We'll make them pay, Hannah. Don't worry, we'll make them pay."

Amelia watched the scene unfold from her spot in the hall before turning and heading silently out to the kitchen to wait for Alexander to join her.

~AQ~

Lucius Malfoy was brooding in the ministry holding cell with half a dozen of his compatriots after being captured by Albus Dumbledore during their failed attempt to retrieve the prophecy for their Lord. Ironically, he felt safer in captivity right now. The thought of facing the Dark Lord's wrath for failing to obtain a small glass sphere from a group of children chilled his twisted soul.

His musings were cut short when he heard the tell tale sound of the door to his cell being opened. Turning his gaze towards the auror, he drawled pleasantly, "What can I do for you this morning, Auror Robards?"

Frowning, Gawain growled, "Get up, Malfoy. It pays to have friends in high places. You're free to go. Come with me down to the evidence room to retrieve your effects."

Hiding his smirk, Lucius smoothly rose from the tiny cot and swept from the cell without so much as a second glance at the auror. When they reached the evidence room, he stepped inside to gather his belongings before his world suddenly went dark.

Robards looked down at the unconscious form of Malfoy, Sr. in disgust before disillusioning and levitating the body. Making sure that no one was around, he made his way down to Agent Johnson's office in the Department of Mysteries.

Agent Johnson looked up from the mountain of paperwork when his door opened and Gawain Robards walked in with a 'cat that ate the canary' smile on his face. Sealing the office with a spell, Johnson asked, "And what has you so happy this morning, Gawain?"

"Funny you should ask that." Robards said joyfully as he flopped into the chair for visitors. With a deft flick of his wand, he canceled the spells holding Malfoy, Sr. and let the unconscious man fall unceremoniously to the ground with a 'thump.'

The only visible form of surprise on Johnson's face was the quirking of one eyebrow as he gazed at the unconscious Malfoy scion. After a few moments studying the unconscious man, he asked, "Wasn't he in the holding cells awaiting transport to Azkaban?"

If possible, Gawain's grin became even wider and he burst out laughing. With tears of mirth dancing in his eyes, he stammered, "Oh, yes! The best part of it is that everything is nice and legal! I got Fudge to sign a release form earlier this morning, told him it was all a misunderstanding. As far as everyone is concerned, Malfoy just did a runner after Fudge let him go!"

A small smile tugged at the corner of Johnson's mouth as he looked at his co-worker with obvious pride and a touch of surprise. A throaty laugh escaped his mouth before he said, "I would have never thought a Hufflepuff would be so devious."

"Hey!" Gawain blurted feigning injury, "I'll have you know that Hufflepuffs are the most devious people you will meet because no one expects it."

"Right." Johnson drawled with a smile on his face. Turning serious, he jabbed his wand towards Malfoy and bound him in ropes before saying, "Now, why don't we get this inbred idiot down to the chamber and have a little chat?"

"Absolutely." Gawain growled as he reapplied the spells before levitating Malfoy out of the office and towards the Death Chamber.

When they arrived in the chamber, Johnson bound Malfoy to a chair in front of the Veil and slapped the man repeatedly until he was awake.

"What the bloody…" Malfoy started to say as another slap whipped his head to the side. When he was able to regain his bearings, he realized that he was bound to a chair in a very familiar room. Trying to maintain his calm demeanor, he drawled, "When Fudge realizes that you've taken me from the cells you're career is finished."

Johnson and Robards broke out in laughter at Malfoy's declaration. When they saw the look of outrage on the pureblood's face, they laughed even harder. Taking charge of the situation, Johnson yanked Malfoy's hair back hard causing him to yelp in pain. The moment he opened his mouth, he poured in three drops of Veritaserum.

Unable to fight the effects of the truth potion, Malfoy's eyes turned glassy and he slumped against the bonds securing him to the chair.

Once Johnson was sure that the potion had taken hold, he pulled out a legal dictation quill and a roll of parchment to make sure that every secret that Malfoy spilled was written down.

By the time that they were finished with their interrogation, they had a complete list of every bribe, crime, illegal operation, and the name of every Death Eater that Malfoy knew of, past and present. When they were finished securing their notes, Gawain turned to Malfoy and said in a deadly whisper, "Good bye."

Malfoy's eyes widened in horror but before he could protest, Robards kicked him as hard as he could in the chest. The force of the blow propelled Lucius Malfoy into the Veil of Death.

"Did you get any of his hair?" Gawain asked Johnson as he stared at the wispy smoke in the center of the Veil where Malfoy had just fallen.

Grinning, Johnson replied, "I sure did. You have his key?"

Robards turned away from the allure of the smoky Veil, withdrew Malfoy's effects from his robe pocket and handed them to Johnson silently. At Johnson's questioning look, he said, "I need to give a report to Amelia Bones."

Johnson accepted the newly departed Lucius' belongings before pulling out a potion vial filled with Polyjuice Potion from his robes.

Gawain looked down at the potion bottle in Johnson's hands and let out a chuckle while saying, "And I thought Moody was a paranoid bastard. You carry that stuff with you where ever you go?"

"That and a few others, yes." Johnson answered while he dropped one of Malfoy's hairs into the potion and watched it turn an acid green with a grimace. "Oh, this is going to taste horrible." He moaned before he gulped the contents down quickly.

Shaking his head at the newly transformed Johnson, Gawain said, "I never get used to seeing that. Don't take everything from the vault, leave a little for the Mrs. That way it will look like he really did a runner."

Johnson nodded in understanding then in his best Malfoy imitation, he swept from the Death Chamber with his head held high.

~AQ~

He sat at his desk turning the blood red stone over in his liver spotted hands watching the firelight dance across its crimson surface. Dumbledore knew how to use the stone, Nicholas had told him years ago, but he was having second thoughts about taking that final step.

Albus had been floored when Flamel told him to destroy the stone three years ago almost to the day. Hiding the truth behind his formidable occlumency shields, he smiled and lied about the stone's destruction. Nicholas and his wife had already gone on to the next great adventure as he liked to call it, so why did using the stone still feel like a betrayal?

Deciding that the benefits of the Elixir of Life outweighed his guilt, he stood up and headed over to his lab to produce the elixir. He had too much to accomplish before he joined the Flamels on their journey.

~AQ~

Fifteen minutes later, a deeply saddened Alexander Bones slumped into the chair across from his sister and accepted the glass that she pushed his way in silence. He stared into the depths of the tumbler for a few moments as his thoughts drifted to his murdered friends and their distraught daughter that the teens had taken upstairs.

"It's never easy, is it?" Alexander asked while staring into the bottom of his empty tumbler.

"No, it isn't." Amelia whispered back. She let him stare into his glass for a few more minutes before she asked, "What was your impression of Harry Potter?"

He looked up at his sister and said, "Powerful, quick on the uptake, and not afraid to stand up to people."

Amelia nodded her head once as if confirming some of the rumors that she had hear about the young man. She knew what Susan had mentioned over the years as well as what was printed in various newspapers and magazines. She had also seen him in person during the Triwizard Tournament during his fourth year so she had a general idea of how he responded under pressure.

Alexander was watching his sister process this information when he added, "I also think that he would have attempted to kill me this afternoon if he thought that I was a threat."

Her eyes locked onto his for a few seconds before she reached up and rubbed the bridge of her nose with her remaining hand and letting out a sigh. Softly, Amelia said, "I knew that he faced down You-Know-Who more than once according to rumors and what happened at the Ministry just the other day, but I never realized how much that changed him until just now."

"What do you mean?" Alexander asked.

"You said that you thought that he would have attacked and attempted to kill you if he felt that you were a threat." When her brother nodded in affirmation, she continued, "It sounds like he's been pushed too far without any proper guidance and help. If someone doesn't step in, and soon, we could have a huge problem in ten or twenty years."

Confusion was etched into Alexander's face as he tried to comprehend what his sister was telling him. Grasping at straws, he asked, "You mean that we could have another Dark Lord on our hands if someone doesn't step in soon?"

"It's one possibility, yes." Amelia answered her brother gravely. "However, I think that with the proper perspective and help, he could be a tremendous force for good in our world."

Sputtering, Alex blurted, "But he's just a boy!"

Shaking her head ruefully, Amelia replied, "Unfortunately, he hasn't been a boy for years. He's seen and done too much to be just a boy."

"Do you think we can help him?" Alex asked sincerely.

"We have too." Amelia whispered before knocking back her drink and letting the alcohol burn away some of the chill that had seeped into her bones during their conversation.

~AQ~

Harry Potter sat on the edge of the bed rubbing Hannah's back while she sniffled into Susan's shoulder. His whole world had been turned upside down in the last few days and he was hanging on by a thread. With Hermione's death, Ron's mental damage, and now Hannah's parents, he didn't know how much more he could take before snapping.

What he did know was that he had a burning desire for revenge and to avenge the people that he loved.

"I envy you, Harry." Hannah's muffled voice broke through the silence. With one last sniffle, she turned, looked into Harry's eyes, and clasped his hands in hers. Seeing his confused look, she choked out, "You got to say goodbye." before breaking down in a fresh set of tears and throwing herself into his arms.

Unaccustomed to close physical contact, as well as crying girls, Harry mimicked Susan's comforting style and began rocking the distraught girl while whispering, "Let it out. We'll take care of you."

Susan gave Hannah's back a quick rub and said softly, "I'll be right back. I want to check on mum and dad."

Hannah didn't respond but Harry felt her squeeze him just a bit tighter so he mouthed, "Okay." while trying his best to comfort his distraught friend.

Closing the door carefully, Susan tiptoed into her parent's room to see how her mother was holding up. Her parents had been friends with the Abbotts since their Hogwart's days and she knew that they must be upset as well.

Her mother was curled up on her side, sound asleep. There were a couple of potions vials on the night table next to the bed that Susan recognized as a Dreamless Sleep and a Calming Draught. She bent down and kissed her mum on the forehead before silently padding out of the room and heading downstairs to talk with her father.

Susan could hear voices coming from the kitchen as she got nearer. Figuring that it was her father and her aunt, she stepped into the kitchen and said, "Hello, Aunt Amelia." When her aunt turned to face her, she noticed the lack of an arm and her hand flew to her mouth in shock. Tentatively, she asked, "What happened?" before slumping down into the chair next to her father.

"Voldemort." Amelia bit out through clenched teeth as she gazed at the stump where her right arm used to be. "He was waiting for me in my townhome when I came home. We had a brief fight and I splinched myself due to my injuries when I tried to flee."

"Oh, auntie." Susan murmured as tears silently tracked down her cheeks.

Alexander began rubbing his daughter's back when the tears came. It had been a rough few days for everyone in the house and he knew that it wasn't going to get any easier for a while.

~AQ~

Just as Albus was extracting the first phial of the Elixir of Life, he heard the unmistakable sound of Hagrid pounding up the steps to office. Setting the phial aside for later, he walked out of his laboratory and sat down in his favorite chair to greet his old friend.

Bursting into the office without even knocking, Hagrid blurted, "Professor Dumbledore, Sir. 'Arry Potter, Susan Bones, and Hannah Abbott just portkeyed away from Hogsmeade station with a man tha' I think was Alexander Bones."

Inwardly, Albus cursed his string of bad luck concerning Harry Potter. He should have had an Order member escort him directly to Privet Drive. Pinching the bridge of his nose in frustration, he removed his glasses and rubbed them on his robes while pondering what his next move was going to be. After a few seconds, he calmly said, "Perhaps we should pay a visit to the Mr. and Mrs. Bones and pick up our wayward charge, eh, Hagrid?"

"Of course, professor." Hagrid said relieved before a look of confusion settled upon his face and he cried out, "I can' remember where they live, sir."

"Hmm. I can't remember either. It seems that we will have to trust Mr. Potter's instincts in this matter until we can meet up with him." Dumbledore said seriously. Smiling up at the half giant, he said warmly, "Don't worry too much, Hagrid. I'm sure that Mr. Potter is safe."

As soon as Hagrid had exited the office, Dumbledore cursed under his breath while pulling out a piece of parchment and a quill to write a letter to Harry. When he was finished with the note, he drew his wand and turned it into a portkey that would take Harry to his aunt and uncle's house. Stepping over to Fawkes, he gently rubbed the beautiful bird's bright red plumage for a few moments before saying, "I need you to take this to Mr. Potter in fifteen minutes. Can you do that for me?"

Fawkes cocked his head to the side for a moment and gave a short trill of agreement.

"Thank you, old friend." Dumbledore said gratefully as he gave the Phoenix one last scratch before setting off to meet Mr. Potter at his relative's house.

~AQ~

Harry and Hannah had just fallen asleep holding onto one another when a bright flash of flames and the accompanying trill of the Phoenix, Fawkes, awoke them with a start.

"Is that a Phoenix?" asked Hannah while looking at the beautiful bird in wonder, her grief temporarily forgotten in the wake of its sudden arrival and song.

Glaring at the large bird, Harry replied, "Yes. He's Dumbledore's familiar and he seems to have a note for me."

~AQ~

Dumbledore had arrived at Number Four, Privet Drive, and was currently waiting for one of the occupants to open the door.

Wondering who would be uncivilized enough to call during dinner, Petunia wiped her hands on her apron and headed for the door. With a sneer on her face, she yanked open the door prepared to chastise the person rude enough to interrupt dinner. The moment she saw the garish robes, she knew that this man was going to drag her further into the world that cost her sister her life.

"Good evening, Petunia." Said Dumbledore genially while looking into her eyes. "Would it be possible to come in?"

Hastily, Petunia stepped back to allow the wizard into her home before any of her neighbors could gather any more gossip material. Closing the door she whirled on the old man and said waspishly, "Why are you here?"

Looking around at the pictures on the walls, Dumbledore was surprised to find none of them contained Harry.

His surprise must have shown on his face because when he turned to face Petunia, she snapped, "We didn't want the boy in the first place. He was never welcome here and as you can see this isn't his home."

At those words, Dumbledore paled as he felt the wards come crashing down around him. Panicked, he barked, "Foolish woman! Do you know what you have done?"

Before Petunia could retort, there were a series of pops from outside signaling the arrival of numerous magical people. Seeing the look in Dumbledore's eyes, she realized that something bad had just happened so she yelled, "Dudders!"

Dudley had been working his way through some roasted potatoes when the back door was blasted apart. Before he could react, a feminine voice shouted gleefully, "Avada Kedavra!" The bolt of green light struck Dudley Dursley right in the face and he fell over dead into his plate of potatoes.

Petunia watched in horror as her son's lifeless body slumped to the floor. "Diddykins!" she shouted while sprinting towards him.

Dumbledore was readying himself for battle for the first time in decades without the Elder Wand and his inattention allowed Petunia to dart forward towards her family's murderer before he could stop her.

"Haven't you freaks done enough to my family!" shrieked Petunia at the approaching witch that had just murdered her son.

Bellatrix glared at the woman for a second before slashing her wand left to right. The bright blue flash of her spell lit up the kitchen before Petunia's cries were suddenly cut off and the only sound was her head rolling across the floor.

She idly kicked aside the head as she stepped over to the doorway to the living room. Bellatrix knew that there was another magical person in the house; she just couldn't tell who it was. Preparing herself, she raised a shield and cautiously stepped into the living room only to come face to face with Dumbledore himself.

She sent her strongest banishing spell towards him before moving back down the hall towards the kitchen. She wanted him in the hallway so her comrades could trap him in the crossfire.

Albus was prepared for Bellatrix's banishing spell and stepped swiftly to the side and let it pass him by where it blew the front door into the Death Eaters that were approaching the porch. He flicked a couple of annoying spells down the hall towards Lestrange forcing her back into the kitchen then transfigured a steel wall in the doorway to keep her occupied for a few seconds.

Turning his attention to the injured Death Eaters scattered about the front lawn, he began subduing them quickly before they were able to recover from the blow that Bellatrix had inadvertently delivered.

Momentarily winded from all of the casting, Dumbledore turned his attention back towards the kitchen only to glimpse the tell tale red of the Cruciatus Curse flying at him. Unfortunately, he was too slow to avoid the spell and he ended up on the ground howling in pain while Bellatrix cackled with glee.

~AQ~

Harry had just removed the letter from Fawkes and was absently stroking the large bird's feathers.

Unbeknownst to Harry, the wards had stopped the portkey from whisking him away. As he read through Dumbledore's missive, he face grew stonier with each passing second.

Concerned, Hannah said softly, "Harry?"

"That manipulative…" Harry started to rant but was cut off by a squawk from Fawkes. Fixing his gaze on the large bird, he was caught off guard when the Phoenix suddenly jumped onto his shoulder and flashed them away from the Bones' house.

"Harry!" Hannah shouted in surprise before dashing out of the room and heading down towards the kitchen, the letter from Dumbledore clutched in her hands. She burst into the kitchen and yelled, "Harry was just taken away by Dumbledore's Phoenix!"

Amelia was on her feet in an instant, taking the letter from the distressed teen while Susan guided Hannah into a seat at the table. As she read the letter, she scowled before pulling out Juliette's wand and sening her Patronus off with a message to Gawain to grab some people and head over to Harry Potter's address. Idly, she turned the letter over in her hand, the tingle of magic on it palpable. "That self righteous bastard!" Amelia muttered while looking down at the offending piece of paper.

"What is it?" Alexander asked his sister curiously.

"This," Amelia growled while holding up the letter from Albus, "is a portkey. Presumably, it's designed to take Harry Potter back to his relative's house."

"Damn. Do we need to go there ourselves?" Alexander asked in a concerned voice.

"I'll head over there myself. I've already sent Gawain a message to get some aurors over there as soon as possible." Amelia said while heading towards the front door.

"Be careful, auntie." Susan said quietly, worried for her aunt and Harry's safety.

~AQ~

The moment Fawkes deposited Harry on the ground in what he knew was his bedroom at Number Four, he blurted, "You miserable turkey!" He cut his rant short as he heard the unmistakable sounds of screaming coming from downstairs. Drawing his wand, he opened the door and crept silently down the stairs towards the screaming.

Carefully, he peered around the edge of the banister and the shock of seeing Bellatrix Lestrange torturing Albus Dumbledore on the floor of the living room drove him into action. Taking careful aim, he whispered, "Reducto."

Amelia Bones portkeyed into the living room just as the silver flash of a spell connected with Bellatrix Lestrange's chest and shoulder in a splatter of blood and bone. Aiming her wand towards the steps, she was relieved to see Harry Potter standing there unharmed but with a look of cold fury on his face.

Moaning from the floor shifted her attention to the scene in front of her. Bellatrix must have gotten the drop on Dumbledore and had been torturing him when Harry intervened.

Harry vaulted down the rest of the steps and over to the injured Death Eater bleeding all over his Aunt's carpet. Snatching her fallen wand from the floor, his gaze drifted towards the kitchen and the bodies lying in the doorway. He quickly realized that they were the lifeless bodies of his aunt and cousin.

He moved as if in a daze before stopping next to his Aunt Petunia, her unfocused eyes devoid of life. An owl from the Ministry of Magic swooping into the house and dropping a letter at his feet broke through his numbness.

Snatching the letter up, Harry ripped it open and gave a mirthless laugh. Returning to the living room, he started at the sight of Amelia Bones tending to Albus Dumbledore. Not knowing what to do, he asked, "How is he?"

Amelia looked up at Harry momentarily and said, "He'll live but he's going to be sore for a few days. Bellatrix must have held him under the curse for a while. I don't know if there will be any long term damage or not though. We need to have him checked out by a healer as soon as possible."

Before she could ask about the letter Harry had in his hands, there were a series of pops outside before a familiar shout of, "Aurors! Secure those people and set up a perimeter!"

A few seconds later, Gawain Robards and Kinglsey Shacklebolt entered the house with their wands drawn, taking in their surroundings. Upon seeing the Director, Harry Potter, a moaning Albus Dumbledore, and a dead Death Eater, Robards asked, "Is everything under control here ma'am?"

Amelia looked around the damaged living room for a moment before saying, "We need a healer for Dumbledore and a team of medics to take care of the bodies."

Just as Robards was about to ask about the bodies, Auror Dawlish burst into the house with his wand drawn and shouted, "Harry Potter, you are under arrest for breaking the Underage Restriction on Sorcery, again."

Dawlish was a bit annoyed when the Potter boy gave no indication of listening to him and simply pointed to his right. Curious, Dawlish turned his gaze to follow the boy's gesture only to pale at the sight of an angry Amelia Bones glaring at him.

Furious, she barked, "Are you an idiot, Dawlish? Who gets arrested for breaking that statute? And since I didn't issue an arrest warrant, on whose authority are you acting?"

Unable to form an articulate response, Dawlish stood there gaping like a fish out of water. Before he could do or say anything else, Amelia stepped forward and held out her hand while saying, "Turn in your badge. You're suspended pending a full investigation until further notice."

Dawlish handed his badge over robotically and began making his way out of the house.

Before he made it to the door, Amelia said coolly, "Tell Fudge if he interferes with the law again, that I'll have him arrested for obstruction of justice."

She paused as Dawlish stumbled on his way out, confirming that her guess was correct, before turning to Harry and saying, "May I have that letter, Harry?" When he handed it over to her, she said, "Don't worry about this. I'll take care of everything since you were defending your relative's home and Professor Dumbledore against an escaped criminal."

"Thank you." Harry mumbled while looking at the door where Kinglsey was showing a healer over towards the headmaster.

Amelia touched Harry's arm lightly and crooked her finger in a follow me motion before heading out the front door with him on her heels. When they reached the front lawn, she turned to face him and whispered, "I'm going to apparate us back to my brother's house, okay?" When he nodded in understanding, she held out her elbow for him to grasp before turning on the spot, taking them both away from Number Four.

~AQ~

Dumbledore was gingerly sitting up with the aid of the healer and Kinglsey, his eyes searching for any sign of Harry. "Mr. Potter?" he managed to croak out while looking into Shacklebolt's eyes.

"He saved your life, Professor. He's the one that got Bellatrix Lestrange." Kingsley answered while gently helping the venerable wizard onto the couch.

Albus looked over and saw the various bodies covered with white sheets, all laid out in a row just inside the living room. All of the Dursleys, plus Bellatrix Lestrange, were dead. He was still reviewing the entire encounter in his mind when a different voice spoke up.

"Mr. Potter saved your life, sir. If he wouldn't have arrived, you would be dead now." Gawain said solemnly as he looked at the pale form of Albus Dumbledore.

Dumbledore sat there in shock as the auror's words registered in his brain. He owed Harry Potter a life debt and that was a very serious complication. Magic had a nasty way of forcing witches and wizards to honor those types of debts and those that tried to ignore them usually ended up dead.

Ignoring the protesting healer, Albus stood up and called Fawkes over to him. Once the large Phoenix was settled upon his shoulder, he said tiredly, "Please take us home, Fawkes." In a flash of fire, Albus Dumbledore departed from Harry's relative's house and back to his private quarters just off his office at Hogwarts.


	9. Revelations

**From the Ashes**

Rating: Mature

Warnings: Spoiler alert for all seven books! This story will be full of mature themes related to the harsh realities of life.

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter and no money is being made from this story. I am thankful to J.K. Rowling for creating such a wonderful universe for her fans to enjoy.

**Chapter 9: Revelations.**

Hannah and Susan were anxiously stealing glances out the front window while waiting for Harry and Amelia to return from his relative's house; clinging to each other silently while they tried to hold their emotions in check after such a trying day.

Alexander had gone up to check on his wife as an excuse to give the two young women some time alone. Sitting down on the edge of the bed, he gently shook Juliet's shoulder while calling softly, "Jules? Wake up, luv."

There was a soft moan before Juliet slowly rolled over into her husband's side and wrapped her arms around his waist while he continued to rub her back. After a few moments of silence, she croaked, "It wasn't just a bad dream was it?"

"No, it wasn't, but I wish it was. Today's been a bit of a nightmare but we'll do everything that we can to make it through this." He said softly while comforting his wife.

A popping noise outside got their attention and Alexander disentangled himself from his wife before going over to the window to see if Amelia was successful in retrieving Harry from Dumbledore's clutches. Upon spying the two aforementioned people, he let out a sigh of relief and said, "Come on, Jules. Ami just got back with Harry."

They made their way downstairs just as Harry and Amelia were being greeted by the girls. Hannah was clinging to a disheveled Harry like a life line while Susan was just stepping back from a hug with her aunt. Catching his sister's eye, Alexander motioned towards the sitting room and began herding everyone along.

Once everyone was seated, Jules asked, "What happened?"

"I killed Bellatrix Lestrange." Harry whispered as he hung his head in his hands. He wasn't bothered by removing the crazy Death Eater from the land of the living; it was the reactions of the people around him that worried him the most and he was dreading the next few moments while everyone digested what he had done.

With Harry's admission, Hannah began rubbing his back in support while silently watching the events play out around her. Harry's confession gave her a small measure of closure with her parent's death. She didn't know who did the deed, but Hannah was convinced that Bellatrix Lestrange had a hand in her parent's murder.

Amelia glanced at the teens on the couch before nodding in confirmation of Harry's claim when the others looked to her for clarification. After a few moments, she said softly, "Harry saved Professor Dumbledore's life. Bellatrix somehow got the drop on Dumbledore and was holding him under the Cruciatus Curse when Harry did the world a favor."

Surprised, Harry picked his head up and looked into the eyes of Madam Bones, his gaze searching for some sign of rejection. After a few seconds, he mumbled softly, "You don't think that I should have stunned her instead?

Blue eyes bore into green as Amelia gazed at the young man sitting across from her before stating, "No. She was a killer, plain and simple, and needed to die. You didn't know how many other Death Eaters were around so the best thing you can do in that situation is to remove the threat. Permanently."

Harry contemplated what Madam Bones said to him in silence for a minute before he looked into her eyes and whispered softly, "Thank you."

"You are welcome." Amelia said firmly before giving him a hard stare and saying, "That doesn't mean you can go about killing Death Eaters willy nilly. We need a few alive to interrogate before they will be put down like the rabid dogs that they are."

Harry's eyes were as wide as saucers, an expression that was mirrored on both of the young women that were clinging to him. Before he could say anything, Amelia interrupted him and said sternly, "Harry, this is war, not some game of Aurors and Robbers. People die in war and the best thing you can do is make sure it's your enemies, not you and your allies, that do the dying."

Seeing that the teens were at their breaking point, Jules announced, "Why don't you three head on up to bed. It's been a long day and we could all use some rest. We can talk more in the morning."

Silently, the three teens made their way upstairs with Susan leading the way to her bedroom as the adults watched them go.

The sound of the door to Susan's room closing let Alexander voice the topic that everyone was thinking about, "Harry and Hannah have nowhere to go now and it probably wouldn't be safe for them to leave here anyway."

"They will stay with us, of course." stated Jules in a tone that brooked no argument. She had just lost her best friend at the hands of Death Eaters and she wasn't about to turn their daughter out of their house.

Alexander nodded in agreement before saying, "We can turn the downstairs study into a bedroom permanently tomorrow. Why don't we heed our own advice and turn in as well."

~AQ~

Grimacing in pain as he gingerly shuffled over to his night stand, Albus stretched out a shaking hand to retrieve the phial of the Elixir of Life. Sighing heavily, Dumbledore slumped down into his bedside chair and turned to Fawkes while removing the stopper on the bottle and saying, "Could you cry a few tears into this please?"

Fawkes gave a chirp of agreement and landed on the tiny dresser next to Dumbledore's outstretched hand. The majestic bird tipped his head over the open bottle and cried a single tear. The pearly liquid slid down his beak where it hung suspended in the candlelight for a few seconds before it fell into the awaiting bottle.

Dumbledore watched eagerly as his faithful companion cried a healing tear into the bottle. The moment the Phoenix tear mixed with the elixir, he knew that something was seriously wrong. The deep red color of the potion began to swirl and in seconds had turned into a mottled grey instead of the expected pure white that Nicholas had mentioned to him once in passing.

As he held the phial up to the light to examine the color better, the contents began to churn and hiss. Reacting quickly, Dumbledore set the menacing bottle on the table next to him and dragged himself from the chair as fast as he could while never taking his eyes off of the threat. By the time he backed away and drawn his wand, the hissing from the contents changed volume and the mixture began bubbling over the lip of the bottle and onto the wood below.

The moment the frothy mess reached the wood, a different type of hissing started as it literally began eating away at the tabletop. "Merlin's beard!" he quietly mumbled in shock as the realization of how close he had come to having that acid inside of him.

Turning to face his Phoenix, Dumbledore said sincerely, "Thank you, Fawkes." Years of paranoia had stopped him from simply gulping down the potion once the healing tears had been added. As the adrenaline from his second near brush with death of the last thirty minutes ebbed, realization set in and his facial features morphed from slack jawed to tight lipped and enraged. "Flamel isn't dead." Albus snarled menacingly before turning and heading for his office, his pain momentarily forgotten in his rage.

~AQ~

Agent Johnson, polyjuiced to look like Lucius Malfoy, entered Gringotts bank with his head held high and a sneer on his face as he approached the head teller. Upon reaching the goblin's desk, he used his cane to tip the open ledger closed and drawled, "I need to visit my vault, goblin."

Looking down at the annoying wizard that interrupted his work, Goldtooth snarled, "At once…Mr. Malfoy. Follow me please."

Johnson knew that his disguise was compromised somehow. Unfortunately, he didn't see any easy way out of his current predicament that didn't involve things getting messy.

Once they were in the cart racing towards the Malfoy vault, Goldtooth turned to the polyjuiced imposter and said simply, "I know you are not Lucius Malfoy. What have you done with him?"

Looking closely at the goblin in the cart with him, Johnson realized that there would be no way for him to seize control of the situation before Goldtooth could push the button that his clawed fist was resting upon on the front of the cart. Seeing no way out, he sighed and said calmly, "I pushed Mr. Malfoy through the Veil in the Department of Mysteries about twenty minutes ago. I'm here to empty out most of his vault and make it look like he did a runner."

After a few moments spent scrutinizing the now very nervous imposter in the cart with him, Goldtooth removed his hand from the button and said, "You will give me twenty percent of the gold in the vault and I will tell anyone that inquires that Mr. Malfoy came in, withdrew some gold, and left just like business as usual."

Letting out the breath he didn't know he was holding, Johnson sighed and simply said, "We have an accord."

Goldtooth smiled widely, showing how he earned his name and said in a tone that brooked no disagreement, "Any further transactions of this type that you need to undertake you will come to see me directly, understood?"

Agent Johnson nodded in agreement and said sincerely, "Absolutely." while pondering his luck at finding a goblin that was greedy and understood what he was doing.

"Excellent. If you get the chance, perhaps you should find a way to visit the other Death Eater's vaults as well." Goldtooth said while looking pointedly at the polyjuiced agent from the Ministry of Magic.

The mine cart pulled to a stop outside the Malfoy family vault and Goldtooth disabled the protections on the door with a wave of his hand. As he stepped back to allow Agent Johnson into the vault, he said calmly, "There are charmed bags hanging just inside the door to your right. I will wait in the cart for you to finish your business."

Ten minutes later, the disguised Unspeakable left the vault and wordlessly climbed into the cart for the ride back to the surface. Once the cart arrived back at the ground floor, Johnson got of the cart and left the bank without looking back or thanking his goblin accomplice in order to maintain his cover.

Goldtooth almost smiled as he watched his polyjuiced accomplice walk out of the bank. His cut came to just over four hundred thousand galleons of the Malfoy fortune and all he had to do was help one wizard steal from another. "_All things considered_", he thought, "_a very good day_."

~AQ~

Looking up from his work in annoyance at being interrupted, it took a few seconds for the reason for the disturbance to sink in. Standing up much quicker than someone of his age should be able to move, Nicholas waved his wand in a circle over his head and all of the items in the room began to pack themselves into the now open trunks standing in the corner of the room. He quickly repeated this process in every room that he passed through on the way to his wife's study.

When he reached her sanctuary, Flamel was relieved to see his wife finishing up with the packing of her things into a trunk as well. With a sigh, Nicholas said, "Well, we knew that this day might come eventually."

Perenelle looked up from her packing momentarily, snorted at her husband while pointing at the mirror, and went back to her task with a smile on her face.

Slightly confused, Nicholas walked over to the mirror and immediately realized what his wife was laughing about. Chagrinned, he quickly pulled off his amulet and stuck it into the pocket of his pants. The moment the necklace cleared his head, his features morphed from the ancient wizard to that of a young man in his prime. "Okay." He said ruefully as he began helping his wife of close to six hundred years pack up her belongings, "I forgot to take it off again. I went to Beeston today and it slipped my mind when I got home."

"Humph." Perenelle sniffed playfully at his explanation of forgetfulness while stuffing an enormous book into a separate trunk. Looking up at him, she smiled briefly and said, "Going senile in your old age, dear?"

With a quick swish of his wand, Nicholas began floating the packed trunks into a pile before replying with a smile in a slightly stressed but indignant voice that his wife of over five hundred years could easily pick up, "I'm younger than you are, or has that already slipped your mind."

Perenelle tapped her wand on the lid of the trunk, sealing the contents safely inside, before striding over to her husband and giving him a loving kiss. As she pulled back, she said, "I love you, too. Now we really must be going before we have some uninvited house guests showing up on our doorstep."

"I agree. Let's load this stuff into the lorry and be on our way." With another flick of his wand, Nicholas had all the packed trunks in the house gently floating in front of him as he guided them up and into the magically enlarged moving van's cargo area. Once the remainder of their possessions were safely secured; he closed and locked the door and climbed into the cab of the vehicle next to his wife.

No one would notice one more moving truck on the highway as they blended into the heavy traffic on the M1 Motorway, completely avoiding any monitored magical transportation methods. You don't live to be over six hundred years old without picking up a few tricks on how to disappear quickly and quietly without a trace.

On the lone remaining piece of furniture in the house a tiny vial shone as the silvery substance inside of it reflected the light in a mesmerizing pattern.

~AQ~

Voldemort was pacing the lounge area of his appropriated headquarters. Albus Dumbledore's childhood roll top desk lay tipped over in the corner from a combination of his lack of finding anything of use and anger at his lack of followers returning from the raid on Harry Potter's home.

With a few more muttered obscenities, the Dark Lord swished his wand and the desk righted itself and its spilled contents settling back into their appropriate places. It wouldn't due to have his followers seeing him destroy a priceless family heirloom in a fit of pique. His temper slightly under better control, Voldemort moved into the foyer of the house and sat down heavily on the bench near the main fireplace in the hall. His seat gave him a perfect view of the fireplace and the front door to watch for his errant minions.

Settling in for a long wait, he pulled out one of the few useful books the Dumbledore left behind and began to read it again. He was so engrossed in Dumbledore's master plan for the 'Greater Good,' that he almost didn't notice the fireplace turn green. In the flash of an eye, Voldemort had his wand trained on the fireplace.

A hand suddenly poked out into the room and tossed a Ministry of Magic Memo onto the floor before retreating into the flames, causing them to revert to their usual yellow and red flicker. Before the memo could flutter to the floor, Voldemort had summoned it to the small table next to him where he immediately began scanning the note for any unusual magic. His concerns satisfied, the Dark Lord picked up the missive and began to read.

The more he read, the stonier his countenance became. By the time he finished, Voldemort had patches of red on his normally pale cheeks and his slits for nostrils were flaring open in his anger. Crumpling up the parchment, he hurled it into the flames where it burned in the flames that were almost as hot as his rage.

The loss of the lower level Death Eaters didn't faze him in the slightest. However, the loss of his most violent follower, at the hands of Harry Potter no less, was going to cause him no end of problems operationally and publicly.

Standing from his now useless vigil, Voldemort sighed and headed down to the basement to work on deciphering the magical clues about who really killed Dumbledore's sister, Arianna, while his subconscious went to work on his recruitment problem.

~AQ~

The pale rays of the new moon were shining through the window into the bedroom where the three teens were each pretending to be asleep so they wouldn't disturb the other. Harry let out an audible sigh of frustration while he stared out at the moon high in the sky while he lay on the small camp bed that had been placed in Susan's room. So much had changed since that disastrous night in the Department of Mysteries as well as at his relative's house earlier that afternoon.

The harsh reality of what it really meant to be in a fight for your life had finally sunk in completely. Gone was the idealistic teen that thought the world revolved around him in his epic struggle with the Dark Lord. Death changes a person and taking a life changes someone even more. Harry finally understood that his days might be seriously numbered.

Voldemort's reputation was terrible but well earned. If he wanted someone dead, they usually ended up dead in pretty short order. Be it fate, skill, or just dumb luck, Harry had managed to survive more encounters with the Dark Lord than anyone else save Dumbledore himself. Regardless of what the prophecy said about him having a power that Voldemort didn't know of, Harry felt woefully unprepared for the inevitable confrontation ahead; something that he could lay directly at the feet of Albus Dumbledore. The troubling question that was making him worry was, _"Why?"_

~AQ~

Hannah was lying on her side, facing the window and Harry. She could see the moonlight reflecting off of Harry's eyes as he lay there obviously distressed about the situation as well. Turning her head away from the window, she looked towards her best friend and found her awake and staring right back at her in the darkness of the room. Silently, she reached out a hand to Susan, who returned the gesture, and they clasped hands in the hopes that the comfort of the other may lessen their burdens somehow.

As they lay there holding hands, Hannah scooted herself closer to Susan in her need to feel safe. Obligingly, Susan drew her longtime friend into a loving embrace as they snuggled together in the large bed trying to ward off the demons in their memories.

Susan was gently rubbing Hannah's back while the girl quietly sniffled. Looking over her friend's shoulder, she could see Harry looking back at her in the darkness. Stopping her rubbing momentarily, Susan gestured for Harry to join them on the bed. After a few seconds when he didn't move to join them, she sighed in frustration at Harry's reluctance to seek comfort from others.

Not wanting to disturb Hannah but realizing that something needed to be done, she leaned her head down and whispered to her, "Hannah, would you be okay if Harry joined us in bed?" Feeling her friend nod in acceptance, she said softly, "Would you please go get him then?"

Hannah lifted her head from Susan's shoulder and gazed into her friends pale blue eyes for a few seconds before leaning forward and giving her a light kiss on the cheek and climbing out of bed.

Harry had been watching the two young women support each other and while he wanted to join them and be comforted too, he was reluctant to seek out comfort from others due to his upbringing with the Dursleys. His eyes widened considerably when Hannah rolled out of bed and padded across the room to where he was laying.

When she knelt down next to his bed, his eyes briefly drifted down to her exposed cleavage before snapping back up to meet her eyes. Fortunately, his blush was not noticeable in the dark.

Silently, Hannah held out her hand to Harry and after a few seconds, he tentatively took it and she slowly pulled him out of his camp bed and led him over to the large bed that she was sharing with Susan. When Harry hesitated at the edge of the bed, Hannah gently, but firmly, pushed him down onto the mattress and climbed in behind him.

Once Harry was situated in the middle, both girls snuggled up to him, each using a shoulder for a pillow while wrapping an arm around his midsection and draping one of their legs over his. For someone that had never been hugged much, Harry was both terrified and overwhelmed at the same time. He felt warm and secure in their embrace but it seemed so foreign to him that it was slightly uncomfortable as well.

Sensing his unease based upon how stiff his body felt, Susan reached down and grabbed his hand while whispering, "Relax, Harry. It's been a long and stressful few days." Feeling him start to relax a bit, she continued, "We need this, too. Hannah lost her parents, my aunt lost her arm, and we all lost a good friend and someone you loved deeply."

Harry let Susan's words soak in and after a few moments, realized that she was right, they had all suffered some tremendous shocks recently and being alone wasn't going to help anyone. Slowly, so as not to alarm his bedmates, Harry lifted his arms and placed them around each young woman and sighed, "You're right, Susan. I guess we should try and get some rest." Not really know what else to say, he squeezed both girls slightly around their shoulders and whispered, "Thanks."

~AQ~

Dropping his newly appropriated funds off at his magically hidden safe house, Agent Johnson made sure to grab a few more vials of polyjuice potion before heading out to meet up with Robards so they could head over to Azkaban as soon as possible. After several random apparitions and stopping at various stores around Hogsmeade, Johnson made it to the prearranged meeting place to find Gawain already waiting for him in the crowded coffee shop.

Gawain watched his quasi partner in crime walk into Starbucks and stop dead in his tracks momentarily as he surveyed the area. He gave a slight wave and Dwight joined him at the small table in the corner. Silently, Robards pushed a steaming mug across the table to his friend and smirked before sipping his own espresso in anticipation.

Warily, Johnson lifted the obviously hot beverage up to his lips and gave it a tentative sniff before taking a sip. As the hot drink flowed into his mouth he savored the taste of Peppermint mixed with milk, coffee, and some type of cream. Deciding that he really liked it, he took a deeper drink and placed the cup back on the table and said, "That's really good! What is it?"

Robards gave a chuckle and replied, "It's called a Peppermint Mocha with extra whip and extra peppermint."

Johnson was oblivious to the snickers coming from the young women at the table next to them as he eagerly took another gulp of the tasty delight then said happily, "This is really good!"

All pretense of not eavesdropping on the two men at the table next to them forgotten, the three attractive young women at the next table burst into loud, raucous, laughter at Dwight's expense. Their mirth increased tenfold when a confused Johnson looked over at them and asked, "What?"

Gawain almost dropped his espresso because he was laughing so hard at his friend. Finally, he blurted out, "Mate, you've whipped cream on your nose!"

"Huh?" Dwight said while still looking at the three beautiful young women that were laughing at him before what Gawain said to him sunk in and he said, "Oh! Sorry about that." and proceeded to lick the whip cream off the tip of his nose before turning back to his friend with a sheepish smile on his face.

The three women blushed and mumbled something he didn't catch before huddling together and whispering furiously back and forth. Confused by their actions, Dwight shrugged and turned his attention back to his friend and said, "Well, we should probably get ready to head back to work. It's going to be a really dreary day in that old prison we call an office."

Robards nodded, gulped down the rest of his espresso, and set his now empty cup on the table. Just as he was about to speak, one of the young women came over and tapped Johnson on the shoulder, smiled, and said softly, "Call me sometime." while handing Dwight a slip of paper with some numbers on it.

Surprised, and a bit confused, Dwight smiled and said jovially, "Sure. Have a nice day." His eyes tracked the lithe brunette as she sashayed out of the Starbucks with her giggling friends. The confusion written clearly on his face, Johnson turned back to Robards and asked, "What just happened?"

"Only you, mate. Only you." Gawain said with a chuckle as they walked out of the Starbucks before they stepped into an alley and disapparated with a tiny pop of displaced air. They reappeared on the docks of Azkaban and tried their best to ignore the cold feeling of dread from the island's guardians.

As they walked up to the gates Robards asked loudly over the howling wind, "Did you bring the veritaserum?"

"Yes." Johnson said calmly as he reinforced his occlumency shields so he could push away the feeling of despair that was beginning to take root in his chest as they approached the island prison's entrance. Grumbling softly, "I hate dementors. Let's get this over with, shall we?"

Ten minutes, and one obliviated guard later, they stood outside the cell door with their hoods up and faces obscured while they looked at the insane prisoner that was one of Voldemort's most fanatical follower. "Get up, Rodolphus!" Johnson drawled in his best Malfoy imitation after downing another sip of the Lucius Malfoy infused polyjuice from his trip to Gringotts earlier.

"Lucius?" the emaciated man asked, his voice like gravel from lack of use, as he dragged herself over to the cell door. Upon seeing the familiar visage of his brother in law, he stretched his hands out through the bars and pleaded, "You must get me out of here! I can help the Dark Lord. I am his most loyal follower!"

The two men looked at each other briefly while thinking that the man in the cell really was insane. "Here, drink this. It will help you recover some of your strength." Johnson said as he held out a potion phial that contained veritaserum instead of the pepper up that he was expecting.

His eyes glazed over as the potion took effect and he slumped down against the bars with in a daze. With a feral smile, Dwight asked, "Tell us everything you know about the Dark Lord."


End file.
